Tooting Community Kitchen has been lending a hand to those that need it in south west London since 2018.
Starting as just a small table serving hot drinks on Tooting High Street, the kitchen is now open six days a week, serving hot meals and providing a food bank and vital community support for the homeless, elderly and vulnerable.
Alongside this, they run a service centre where local residents can come in to talk about housing and funding problems to mental health issues.
Trustee Johnny Mooney said: “Some of these people don’t have anyone.
“Some people do an honest day’s work, some of them are working two jobs, and they still can’t afford to feed their families. I think that’s a real failure of our society.”
Johnny emphasised the most important factor is the community feel of the kitchen.
Over the years, the 50 regular volunteers and the public get to know each other and build connection over food.
He said: “Local is what it’s all about.”
The family that the charity has built ensures that nobody is ever alone.
During the pandemic, Johnny began volunteering at Tooting Community Kitchen.
Since then, he’s been a big part of the organisation: helping out with music classes, pilates classes, food banks, and even craft workshops.
Being volunter-led has it’s challenges, but with the help of their partners, the kitchen continues to provide for their community.
He said: “We have our frustrations, we have our challenges, but by large, it’s a great experience.
“One door closes, another opens.”
Companies such as M&S, Lidl, Gail’s and DONS local action group and The Felix Project, have shown their support by partnering up to keep the kitchen afloat.
Through weekly donations, Gail’s ‘drops a very welcome bread bomb’ of 30-60 loaves, that helps the community feed themselves and their families.
Johnny emphasises how much more prevalent homelessness and poverty is becoming in the capital.
He said: “When I was a kid, there were soup kitchens and food banks, of course, but we didn’t have people sleeping on the streets.”
The changes he has seen over the years have been the motivation for him to develop his passion of helping others though the kitchen.
Since his career in teaching, Johnny Mooney has always had the heart to help others.
This just goes to show how dedicated the charity is to helping their community, and is just a small glimpse of all the good that they are doing.
Tooting Community Kitchen are always looking for more volunteers to get involved and help bring the people of south west London together.
You can find out more about this here.
Featured image credit: Julia M Cameron via Pexels
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