25 July 2023. We are celebrating with National Lottery Community Fund today as a recent award recipient. We thank them for their support, which enables us to continue our Food with Friends project on food security and health education for the migrant communities in Portsmouth for one more year.
Today, the National Lottery is marking their £252m of funding to over 5,000 community groups across England from the end of February to June 2023. WBI is proud to be a recent award recipient and have our community service work recognised nationally.
The Community Fund was established to fund projects and activities that help communities thrive. We want to show you what it means at the community level for us to receive this funding.
On 22 July 2023, we restarted Food with Friends thanks to the National Community Fund. Based around a meal gathering, the project invites members of the migrant community to share a meal together and with this occasion receive vital information on health through workshops and presentations.
We relaunched the project from a beautiful, historical location in Old Portsmouth. It was heart-warming to see many of our friends join us, despite the ‘British summer’ weather of rain and strong winds. It was a reminder why we love this project: the sense of togetherness it creates around us.
The engaging presentation by Bonny Ling, our Executive Director, drew attention to the topic of plastic waste and how we can protect public health by reducing our plastic use.
Participants then took part in a quiz hosted by Isabela Palancean, our Programme Assistant, where they had the chance to answer some trivia questions on the same topic. Winners received bottles of hand-wash in recycled plastic containers. Spoiler alert: the Soap scent was English Rose 🌹.
Many Thanks to the zero-waste Her Whey Store, who happily refilled the 5L container of handsoap for us to take over to the event!
It goes without saying, the event would not have been successful without the delicious food by a local caterer. Many of our guests went back for seconds, as they really enjoyed the selection of samosas, veggie and chicken rice, BBQ chicken and pasta!
One of the reasons why we love supporting local SME businesses such as our caterers is that the food is always cooked with so much heart.
Despite the stormy conditions outside, everyone was in good spirits having a chat and making new friends over a meal at Food with Friends. 🙌
We are deeply grateful to the National Lottery Community Fund for allowing us to continue our work with the migrant community and creating this social and educational space. See you at the next one!
