Berczy visits The Nourish Hub
The Nourish Hub is a place where communities are invited to come together to eat, learn and be educated about food. Whether you want to learn how to cook nutritious and delicious meals in the community kitchen, understand the importance of reducing food waste or enjoy a hearty meal every lunchtime, it’s a place for everyone to feel welcome.
Working alongside Hammersmith and Fulham council and the Greater London authorities, the Nourish Hub is part of the London Growth Food Fund. Set to be the beginning of more spaces like this in London, the aim is to empower people’s relationship with food and learn essential skills for life.
We were met by the always enthusiastic Sarah from UKHarvest and Pip who runs the Nourish Hub, they gave us a tour of the amazing facility. It was clear to see how much thought and energy had been put into building this multi-use space, which doubled up as a children’s summer club when it opened this year.
What caught my eye were these incredible growing towers that were dotted around the Hub, full of bright and lucious herbs. We were taught that these towers are the use of hydroponics; a type of horticulture that grows plants without using soil, instead growing them in nutrient-rich water and using a different material to support the roots. All of this produce is used in their recipes and cooking classes, so there’s no carbon footprint here!
Every lunchtime from Monday to Friday, the Nourish Hub serves a community meal, consisting of delicious and low-waste vegan and vegetarian dishes, with all ingredients being delivered from UKHarvest’s warehouse in Chichester.
We got stuck into a few hours of sorting, peeling and chopping bright ingredients that were soon to be turned into colourful curries, then packed into meal boxes to be delivered to the local community. We got to do some all important menu tasting, and they were delicious!
Whilst we were in the kitchen, the Nourish Hub was buzzing around us; delivery drivers came and went, cookery classes were being taught and chefs were writing up new recipes using newly delivered unwanted ingredients, to turn into nutritious meals.
It was amazing to see UKHarvest continuing their mission to ‘Nourish our Nation’ and how many opportunities the Nourish Hub is providing to their local community. They are always looking for new volunteers so if you would like to lend a hand, they would appreciate any help or time you can give.