“With good ingredients it is easy to produce really good meals”
The Clocktower Sanctuary (CTS) is a day centre located in Brighton that helps 16-25 year-olds who are experiencing homelessness. The centre offers a safe space to access support services, relax, and get something to eat.
The services that the centre provides include a hot meal, showers, clothing, toiletries, as well as help with accessing and attending appointments. Aside from support, the centre offers a multitude of activities, including art workshops, table tennis, and martial arts. A main goal of CTS is to provide stability for young people, which includes having a personal support co-ordinator and access to services such as CV writing.
“A hot meal is probably the most consistently accessed thing we offer.”
In the Kitchen
Every day that the centre is open, a free hot meal is cooked up by a team of volunteers. Food is an essential part of the CTS service as a warm, nutritious meal is a vital part of the clients’ day. The meal is made with a combination of surplus food from Fareshare Sussex and Surrey (FSSS), donations, and their own food budget.
Claud, the centre manager, explained the importance of a hot meal:
“When you are homeless it is really stressful, you are tired and have a lot to do because you are trying to deal with this issue around the fact you have no housing. All of these things are a lot easier to deal with when you have had something to eat.”
“Often the people who come in here don’t have access to cooking facilities, so this food will be a relatively nutritious balanced meal that may be the only one they have for that day.”
Andy, who volunteers on the FSSS delivery day, shared:
“I think the food we get from FSSS is fantastic. It’s lovely to be able to give that quality of food to people who are probably in real need of having some decent food.”
Alongside the hot meal, the centre provides food parcels for clients to take away with them to help reduce food costs. This includes items such as pasta, long-life milk, baked beans, cereals, and tinned vegetables. Additionally, any surplus food they receive in large quantities or with short use-by dates gets handed out to clients.
The combination of using surplus food and cooking on a large-scale provides a fun challenge for the volunteers to ensure something tasty is cooked up. Trudy, a volunteer on a Thursday, shared:
“It is quite shocking that all this food would get chucked out. I think a lot of the volunteers really like the “what can we make with what we have got” aspect and will all get their creative ideas together.”
Crowd Pleasers
After chatting with volunteers and clients, it became evident that the lunches were well loved and that there was a variety of favourites. The meals that include proteins, specifically roast chicken, and roasted potatoes seem to be a crowd pleaser. Additionally, a few clients mentioned chili con carne, burgers and the Saturday fry-up.
Around the Table
After visiting the centre, it became clear how important the warm meal is for people. Not only is the food delicious and nutritious, but it also allows clients to chat. Clients and volunteers sit down and eat together. Discussions around food allow for conversations to be opened and for experiences to be shared.
“Talking about food is a great leveller. People like to talk about food while they are here and it usually transcends ages and cultures.”
The food served is typically eaten around a large table, allowing clients and volunteers to chat and relax. The centre and table provides a comforting environment for people to enjoy. Claud added:
“The table is a real hub of the centre and the clients have provided feedback that they get a real sense of homeliness and belonging, which perhaps they don’t get anywhere else. There is something quite traditional or comforting about sitting down with lots of people and eating.”
If you are interested in the Clocktower Sanctuary and the work that they do, visit their website here.
If you would like to support the supply of surplus food to services like the Clocktower Sanctuary, please donate to Fareshare Sussex and Surrey here.