Travelling Kitchen CIC

Our Social Purpose Objective Travelling Kitchen is a Community Interest Company (CIC) working with schools and community groups in Bristol and the surrounding area. We deliver cookery workshops which aim to engage children and adults with good food and in particular: equip them with essential cooking skills; raise their confidence, especially in their ability to cook; increase understanding of healthy eating and the importance of cooking for lifelong health and well-being; within schools apply a cross-curricular approach to cooking, supporting and enhancing learning in the classroom; develop an improved awareness of the origins of the food we eat; develop an increased knowledge of the wider cultural, social and historical significance of food and celebrate this; and nurture an enjoyment of the shared experience of cooking and eating food togetherand address isolation and loneliness. Business Performance Our turnover was lower this year than the previous year. This was due to several organisations with which we have previously worked, in particular schools, experiencing restrictions on their funding. We continue as a social enterprise to maintain as broad a range of funding sources and income as possible to avoid dependency on any one source and ensure our sustainability. Our grant income remains stable. Key achievements and social contribution When Travelling Kitchen started out (around twelve years ago and ten years ago as a Community Interest Company) our main focus was working with children in primary schools. We are saddened that many schools now struggle to afford to engage the services of organisations like Travelling Kitchen due to very challenging school budgets. Food education is on the national curriculum but few schools have the resources (trained staff, kitchen equipment etc.) to deliver meaningful hands-on cooking sessions. As an organisation we have found it difficult to access funding as the teaching of food education is seen as already being funded in schools, even though this is far from the reality. However, we continued to work with around 200 children in five schools as well as working with a further 70 children in other community workshops. The schools’ workshops included themes chosen by teachers including ‘Food from different continents’, ‘Food from Africa’, ‘Where does our food come from?’ to enhance learning on those topics in the classroom. As well as improved cooking skills and knowledge of where food comes from and different food types, teachers also observed an increase in confidence in children around food, particularly with those children with additional needs. At Southmead Adventure playground (The Ranch), operated by Southmead Development Trust, we continue to work with the team there to deliver the government funded Holiday Activities and Food programme (HAF). This aims to provide children on free school meals with a hot meal and free activities during the school activities. In addition to providing food related activities to around 200 children and young people, we cooked over 1,400 hot meals for children attending their holiday sessions. Other projects with children/ young people included working with parents and pre-school children at EveryFamily children’s centre in Brentry where we explored quick and easy lunches and other healthy meals/snacks and how to involve small children in food preparation. 2024 marked the third season of the Southmead Community Cook Ups, a concept developed by the Community Development team at Southmead Development Trust and Travelling Kitchen with funding from Feeding Bristol and Bristol Local Food. These aim to help provide a warm safe space and access to good quality food to Southmead residents in settings that are familiar and accessible to them. They also provide an opportunity for people to come together to cook and eat and learn some new cooking skills and recipes. In total we worked in five different settings, holding sessions for elders in two sheltered accommodation settings and general community sessions in St Stephen's Church, the Greenway Centre and Southmead Rugby Club. Travelling Kitchen provides breakfast on arrival and a simple hot lunch. Over the course of the morning, we batch cook meals to take away. On average they go home with a further six meals. Participants feedback is that the meals they take home are really appreciated and enjoyed, the sessions have introduced them to new recipes and foodstuffs and they value cooking and sharing food together. We delivered a further two 10-week cookery courses for the parents/carers of children attending Hannah More Primary School in Bristol in collaboration with the Friends of Hannah More school. The course aims to teach basic cooking skills and techniques and for participants to cook a family meal to take home. However, the course also provides a safe space for participants to talk about and cook dishes from their home cultures and a relaxed way to meet with other parents and carers. Some sessions were led by participants where they demonstrated dishes they regularly cook at home. We began an inspiring new project in January 2025 working with Quarry Chapel in Cam and the ceramicist Karen Hilliard to deliver a ten-week cooking and ceramics course for young people and their families. The aim of the course was to provide a safe space for young people who may be struggling with main-stream schooling, to develop their creative skills and confidence. The project was extremely well received by the young people, their families, their schools and other supporting organisations, with many positive outcomes. As a result, a new cohort will be welcomed on a new course in January 2026. Other new initiatives included working with the organisation Cerebral Palsy Plus to deliver inclusive cookery sessions to their members in North Somerset. We also delivered a half-day cookery workshop to members of Carers Support Bristol and South Gloucestershire. Many carers struggle to cook nutritional meals for themselves. The workshop focused in on healthy and tasty meals that could be prepared quickly and/or batch cooked. Once again, we have collaborated with Aid Box Community who work with refugees and those seeking asylum to hold cooking sessions for their women's group. These sessions provide an opportunity for the women to cook and share food for their peers. We continue to collaborate with other food education organisations in Bristol with initiatives aimed at improving access to food and food-related knowledge and addressing food inequality. Travelling Kitchen is a partner in the Food Leaders programme with amongst others Square Food Foundation, Co-exist Community Kitchen, The Children's Kitchen, 91 ways and the chefs Josh Eggleton and Adrian Kirkmaa. This provides courses for community food leaders across the city. Pro-bono contribution The directors continue to undertake management of the company, including governance and financial management on a voluntary basis. In 2024/25 the directors also contributed their time on a pro-bono basis to provide some community workshops such as sessions with Aid Box Community. The directors' fees shown under 'Cost of Sales' on page 11 relate to fees paid to directors for the planning and delivery of cooking workshops and events.