All about... The Food Place

What is The Food Place?

Last summer the cafe at Goldsmiths Community Centre closed, after 12 years of operation. Our centre users miss it, and so do we! But... no one could make a go of it any more as a business, and we had to look at different ways we could use it, bring some income to the community centre and most importantly invite local people in!

A group of local organisations got together and have been planning the way forward for this space. The first meeting took place at the end of October 2012, and we have been meeting monthly since then and inviting guests from the local allotment society and our local councillor. We renamed the space The Food Place to reflect the variety of events and activities that would be happening. We first thought up the name, back in February 2010 - http://goldcatcafe.blogspot.co.uk/2010/02/food-place-summary-of-10-feb-workshop.html

Our community payback team sorted out the store cupboard and kitchen units, thoroughly cleaned and repainted the cupboard and put everything back in apple pie order. Over Christmas the floor was sanded and treated ready for the new year and new activities. At the last hygiene inspection, it received a five star rating!

The Food Place got off to a great start in the New Year. Three regular activities are running from baby weaning, food explorers for under 5s and cooking your own evening meals and we have put on a couple of special events, a Love Food Hate Waste workshop and A Taste of Scotland. The space is also being rented regularly for private functions, bringing much needed income to the Goldsmiths Community Association. For more details about regular activities including Yummy Explorers and Food Explorers contact Jo on 020 8695 5955.

Love Food Hate Waste workshop in preparation mode

‘Come and Cook your Evening Meal!’

This new project running at Goldsmiths Community Centre is for all ages and free for anyone in Lewisham who not only wants to learn cooking skills but enjoy it. Cllr Janet Daby, who was involved in the initial discussions of the project, was there on the first evening to support and offer her encouragement to volunteers.


Rosalynn, Cllr Daby and Abi at the first session of Come and Cook your Evening Meal

She comments, “It is lovely project to be a part of from the beginning, and one I feel will be a great success. The aim was to encourage cooking at home, making people aware of being nutritious and eating the right foods. It was also to offer cooking skills to those that lack them as well as showing them that it can be fun and easy to do. There is no doubt that children, parents and residents will love it. My best wishes go out to everyone who takes part in improving their skills and learning how to cook. I remember the home economic classes I took at school which I feel should be brought back as part of every person’s learning”.

Cllr Daby is also working with churches in the Whitefoot area to set up a food bank. She feels the food bank along with this project will support local people to provide for themselves and their families in increasing hard times. She aims to think ahead of October 2013 when the coalition government’s Universal Credit is put into effect and where people could be further pushed into economic hardship as a result of it.

There are places available on these sessions please contact Delphine 

Och aye the noo! A Taste... of Scotland

Following successful pilots by Downham Nutrition Partnership of a Taste of Italy and A Taste of China last year, 2013 brought A Taste of Scotland to The Food Place.


Chopping the tatties and leeks for A Taste of Scotland

We chopped leeks and tatties for leek and potato soup, cooked finnan (smoked) haddock for cullen skink and even sampled some haggis! As a Dutch waitress once said to me when I asked what was in the croquettes 'You don't want to know'. Also on the menu were Scottish cheeses, oatcakes, shortbread and cranachan. A very enjoyable evening to the accompaniment of traditional Scottish music.

Coming soon, a Taste of Jamaica.

And to whet your appetite and see the progress, some photos of what we've been doing!


Fruit kebabs prepared by Delicious Nutritious for the DNP AGM


Healthy, delicious salads from Delicious Nutritious


Contents of The Food Place storeroom, before it was cleaned and repainted

 
Food Place store cupboard, freshly cleaned and painted


Ingredients for a Food Place workshop from Love Food Hate Waste


 
What does a healthy Downham look like?


Fresh herbs from the community garden


Community garden grown 'Marmande' tomatoes

Cooking classes and events at The Food Place in February

 

Come and cook your evening meal

Delicious Nutritious present a new cooking session at the Food Place in Goldsmiths Community Centre, starting on Thursday 21st February from 6.30-8pm. Suitable for all ages the theme is 'Cooking your evening meal'.

The sessions are free and have been funded by the NHS. Booking is essential for any of the sessions, please call Delphine on 07857 040853 or email deliciousnutritious@gmail.com

Yummy Explorers

Yummy Explorers started on 16th January and is every Wednesday until 3rd April. Delivered by Delicious Nutritious and funded by Pre-School Learning Alliance Lewisham, Yummy Explorers gives practical tips and recipes for weaning. You can join at any time but you need to pre-book by contacting Jo Cooper on 020 8695 5955 or email jo.cooper@pre-school.org.uk

 

Love Food Hate Waste 

The next Love Food Hate Waste Cooking Workshop is on Thursday 14th February from 10am - 12 noon at Downham Health and Leisure Centre. The workshop is free but booking is essential http://cookingworkshopdownham.eventbrite.co.uk

Monica Price, Nutritional Consultant, delivered a fun Love Food Hate Waste session at the Food Place on 4 February. Participants prepared and cooked pizzas and learned how to minimise waste in cooking, The session was run in conjunction with Lewisham Council, where you can find more information on the series of events. Here are a few photos!

Getting ready to weigh the ingredients

Monica explains about yeast

Just some of the pizza toppings

The finished product!

A Taste of Scotland and Ceilidh

Following the success of previous 'Taste of' events, Downham Nutrition Partnership presents 'A Taste of Scotland and Ceilidh' on Tuesday 26th February from 5.30pm. Booking is essential http://www.eventbrite.com/event/5295701586

There is a marvellous raffle prize of a bottle of Glenlivet single malt whiskey. A £5 donation ensures you will receive a raffle ticket entering you into the prize draw.

This weekend's events 26-27 January

Friends of the Woodland Walk

The Woodland Walk is a long narrow strip of Ancient Woodland that runs for nearly a mile through the Downham estate.  It appears on old maps as the boundary of Shroffold Farm, and thankfully was retained when the houses were built in the 1920s.

The woodland is now part of the Green Chain Walk and contains some magnificent old oak and ash trees, as well as relatively rare wild service trees.  There are glades of bluebells in the spring, and several clumps of wood anemone. The wide variety of birds and insects there include woodpeckers, long tailed tits and stag beetles.

The Friends of the Woodland Walk were set up 13 years ago by a group of local residents who were concerned about the neglected state of the woodland.  It had become a target for flytipping, graffiti and vandalism. 

The Friends group arranged monthly work days to clear the accumulated rubbish and enlisted the help of Glendale to ensure that the bins were emptied and the gates locked at night.  They obtained various grants, including one from the local Assembly, and bought new benches and litter bins.  Bat and bird boxes were made by pupils at Bonus Pastor School, which borders the Woodland, and loggeries were created to encourage stag beetles and other insects.  Recently, large sections of the path have been resurfaced and Green Chain / Capital Ring signage improved.

Now, the woods are used by several schools as well as large numbers of local people, whether they are walking their dogs, taking a short cut to school or shops or just enjoying the sights and sounds of nature.  Our long term aim is to preserve the woodland as a local nature reserve by leaving dead wood as habitat for insects and fungus and brambles as shelter for birds and small mammals.  However we are aware that the public want a safe and attractive environment in which to walk, so we do cut back undergrowth close to the path and plant native bulbs to add some spring colour.

Our work days continue on the last Sunday of each month, and new volunteers are always welcome, regardless of age or fitness level.  We meet at one of the entrances to the woodland at 2pm for a couple of hours’ work.   Our next session is on Sunday 27 January 2013, meeting at the Haddington Road gate (near the junction with Oakshade Road).   Gloves, tools, refreshments and friendly company are provided!

Please ring Janet Hurst on 020 8698 6805 for any further information.

More information about local events and activities on the Downham Interagency website

New and upcoming events and activities at the community centre

Seasonal events in Downham

 

September in Downham, Whitefoot and Bellingham

Edible Open Gardens Day - 15th September 2012

As part of the Big Dig we will be opening the community garden from 11am - 4pm on Saturday 15 September. There will be herb and salad plants for sale that you can overwinter on a sunny windowsill, light refreshments will be available and you can see the Apothecary Garden in progress. On the same day we will be 'Looking at Nature in New Ways' with Ruth and Suriya, who host the Permaculture Kids Club at Grow Mayow Community Garden, Sydenham, and will be building a herb spiral.

Making Connections - Community Event 22nd September 2012

Please join us on Saturday 22 September from 12 noon onwards in the community garden for an event celebrating health and wellbeing and the conclusion of the hubbub
project