A joint community venture by Pilmeny Development Project and FENIKS has received a major funding boost from Harbour Homes via the National Lottery’s Community Fund. This will allow its weekly Multi-Cultural Cook Along to continue until at least March 2025.
Harbour Homes’ social enterprise subsidiary, Harbour Connections, offered £14,225 funding to Pilmeny Development Project as part of its local placemaking work.
These cook alongs provide a welcoming and safe space for older members of the Leith community to meet, cook, eat and spend time together. This helps to reduce social isolation, loneliness and food poverty in a collaborative way. Some group members have also benefitted from activities at the cook alongs which have helped to improve their English language skills.
Mary O’Connell who runs the project said: “It’s an amazing group of people.
“To see how they all come together while cooking, playing bingo and getting competitive during Play Your Cards Right after the meal is brilliant.”
One attendee, aged 83, has been attending the events for several months now. He said: “Just look around the table, I’m English, there are Scots, Canadians, Polish and Irish here and we all get on really well.”
The funding will also help provide transport allowing group members to attend the cook-alongs at the Pilmeny Development Project Youth Centre.
In addition to the Multi-Cultural Community Meals, the funding will go towards supporting Older People’s Meals and Pilmeny Development Project Youth Centre community food provisions for their youth clubs.
John Murray, Placemaking Manager at Harbour Homes said: “There’s a genuine warmth and togetherness about the group which speaks volumes about the work being done here.
“It’s a privilege for Harbour Homes to be in a position to help support projects like this.”
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