Kay Johnson runs the Larder in Preston, a cafe and food hub that aims to bring fresh local produce to food deserts. The Larder had been embraced as part of the city’s “Preston Model” of rewiring supply chains so that less money leaks out of the city. When the coronavirus hit, Johnson says the Larder was on the cusp of breaking even, with accredited hospitality courses, evenings for food lovers and cooking classes for children in the calendar.
When did you notice something changing?
I noticed that the cafe was starting to get quieter at the beginning of March. I’d spoken to a few friends overseas and it was obvious that what was happening there was going to happen here and I thought: “This is going to hit us too.”
This year I have spent every moment of everyday focussing on the business side and getting income in. I think I was almost there! I had accredited, Level 2 hospitality courses ready to go, quite a big deal for us because we are so small, I was going to have an evening of fine dining with Shelia Dillon, I had load of groups planned – then all my hard work had disappeared overnight. I thought: “I can’t do this again, I’ve given everything and it’s gone.” I felt pretty devastated
I thought: “I can’t do this again, I’ve given everything and it’s gone.”
How did you turn it around?
I had an idea that we could use or skills to provide cooked nutritious meals for people who, for whatever reason, can’t cook for themselves and said to my colleague Rachel, “Let’s put something out there and we’ll see what the response is.”
On Saturday, March 14 we posted a request for volunteers on Facebook and the response was unbelievable. Rachel couldn’t keep up with all the offers offers of help! We also needed money, our only income is from the cafe and courses and as there was hardly any money coming in in March, we needed funds to pay staff and buy ingredients. So we put together a Crowdfunder called Cooking For Our Community to provide home-cooked meals to vulnerable people. Within two weeks we had raised over £5000. We’ve asked for £25,000 and that will fund 10,000 meals.
Every single penny really does make a massive difference!
Please support our crowdfunder
We appreciate every single donation, big or small – we know it is donated with love
❤ thank you ❤ https://t.co/iNB6oWA5ft— The Larder (@LarderLancs) April 13, 2020
It’s been such a whirlwind. The week before it was just me going around saying: “We need food, we need a place to cook and a strategy so people can see what we’re doing.” I was trying to come up with this strategy based on nothing. I spoke to other foody people I know: Iain Chambers, from the Bevy in Brighton, Dee Woods from Granville Community Kitchen in London and Robbie Davison from Can Cook in Liverpool and they had similar plans and some useful advice.
I held a meeting in Preston on March 16 with all the local organisations I was in contact with and set up the Emergency Food Provision for Preston group.
What has the reaction been like from the Council?
Officers and cabinet members from Preston City Council came along the meeting on the 16th, then it went quiet for a couple of weeks because Lancashire County Council decided they were going to take a county-wide approach and were working with the police to develop a strategy.
We are now working really well in partnership and they are referring people to us who aren’t able to cook with the food bank items that they are supplying.
What about with other organisations?
After the meeting on the 16th we started working with Age Concern Central Lancashire, Preston Minster, Community Gateway Housing Association, and the Foxton Centre for the homeless. By the end of March we were getting loads of meals out and trying to make sure that we were doing that safely for the staff, volunteers and community. Everything has fallen into place. When we needed freezer space, Age Concern found some for us. During the first week the wholesalers had a backlog because all the restaurants and schools are closed, so they donated loads of stuff. We’re still getting lots of donations of vegetables from farmers, our suppliers and from FareShare.
Before this crisis, my colleague Alison and I were training up a team of Food Champions and they were due to deliver cooking classes to children as part of our Holiday Hunger programme. We normally deliver face to face but I adapted it in accordance with the current situation. We had 36 families involved who received a video recipe everyday and ingredient kits delivered every 2-3 days. It was all run by volunteers and a lot of the ingredients were donated. It was a huge success and the feedback has been amazing.
Here’s one of the films we made. We made 10 all together, one for every weekday of the Easter holidays.
If we can get some funding, we’ll run this again with 120 families during the summer break but in the meantime we are trying to find ways get our accredited catering courses online to give people an opportunity to gain qualifications during lockdown.
What’s next?
I’m working with my colleague Charlie Clutterbuck to develop a voucher scheme that will allow the increasing number of people in poverty to buy local produce. We are planning to use the Open Food Network platform and a car delivery app we currently use to deliver the cooked meals. It’s something we’ve been wanting to do for sometime but it’s so relevant for now. I’m busy applying for grants and as soon as we have some money we are ready to start something that can be scaled up and replicated.
I’m working on a voucher scheme to help people buy local
What are you worried about in the longer term?
My concern is that this time of year is quiet for growing in the UK and we rely a lot on imports. The wholesalers I have spoken to have assured me that, for now, they are not foreseeing any problems with supply but the prices are going up partly due to logistics and Brexit. Normally the same driver brings produce from say Southern Europe, but now they have to change drivers at each border so no one is having to travel great distances.
All our #EasterKidsInTheKitchen videos & recipes are now in one handy place.
….keep cooking! Enjoy! https://t.co/cwa9P3nEZE— The Larder (@LarderLancs) April 20, 2020
I know there are huge problems with the food system and the lack of land workers are a concern, but it seems to me people are adapting very quickly. I’m seeing that in every step of this process that I’m involved in and am trying to remain hopeful that it will be happening at a national level. I know that lots of amazing people from organisations like the Landworkers’ Alliance and Sustain are working hard to make sure that people don’t go hungry.
People are adapting very quickly
After my initial dismay at losing aspects of the business, I’m now hopeful, from the great relationships that we have been building, that something amazing will emerge for the long term.
What should the government do?
I’d like the government to listen to and take guidance from food system experts at a strategic level and more importantly from grass roots organisations who are in direct contact with communities and understand their needs and issues.
