Blog & GroupsThe Good Food Collective has entered a busy 2021 summer with stalls, workshops and events in the making.
FULL UPDATE to be published soon.
.
THE GOOD FOOD COLLECTIVE: SUPPORTING LBBD BLACK HISTORY MONTH – PUBLICATION
.
As part of their Black History Month activities, with support from Company Drinks, the Good Food Collective have produced a publication, showcasing their skills, their products and their dishes. We will be circulating this as part of the shared Community Cooks meal, but also online and locally.
This publication will also feature a piece by Fozia Ismail, commissioned especially as part of Black History Month, entitled ‘Acts of Kindness Whilst Imagining a More Equitable British Food Industry’. Many thanks to Arawelo Eats’ Fozia Ismail for her support and contribution.
Please contact us goodfood@companydrinks.info if you’re interested in receiving a copy to share with your community group, alternatively you can find the PDF here.
.
THE GOOD FOOD COLLECTIVE: SUPPORTING LBBD BLACK HISTORY MONTH – COMMUNITY COOKS 29TH OCTOBER 2020
.
On Thursday 29th October, the Good Food Collective were due to share delicious meals with members of the community at a pop-up stall in Barking Town Centre, as part of Black History Month.
After lots of deliberation, and with changes to Covid-19 risk levels and government guidelines, the group decided to channel their efforts towards sharing their meals with the community.
On Thursday 29th October, inspired by the work of Granville Community Kitchen, Edible London and Made Up Kitchen [among other organisations we admire]; we are asking all attendees of our Community Cooks Lunch to “Pass It On”.
The cooks came together and will be distributing the frozen meals to the Eden Community Storehouse [Kingsley Hall Community Supermarket] freezers for future hot meals distribution as part of their Covid-19 response activities in the community.
The Good Food Collective are grateful to LBBD and everyone who showed interest in the event for their ongoing support, we hope you agree this is a much better way for us to be sharing our skills, our dishes and our stories. Company Drinks will, of course, be sharing the recipes and the story, as it happens, as part of our own ‘Circulating During Lockdown’ activities.
.
You can watch a brilliant video talking about the cooking day and the cooks from ‘Instagrammer in Residence’ Brigitta Budi (Bri’s Kitchen) here.
.
.
ACTS OF KINDNESS BY FOZIA SMALL
“Never more than in the pandemic, when mutual aid groups and food banks continued to meet the need of feeding our most vulnerable, have I been so impressed by the simple acts of kindness” Fozia Ismail
As part of Black History Month, we commissioned a piece of writing by Fozia Ismail (Arawelo Eats), entitled ‘Acts of Kindness and Eating Whilst Imagining a More Equitable British Food Industry’. Many thanks to Fozia Ismail for her support and contribution. It felt as good a time as any time re-visit this piece and share with you as we look to reconnect with our communities in different ways.
You can read the piece here, or contact us if you’d like to request a PDF copy via email.
.
..
THE GOOD FOOD COLLECTIVE: SUPPORTING LBBD BLACK HISTORY MONTH – DIGESTING POLITICS ONLINE TALKS
.
The group were very proud to be given the opportunity to support the LBBD Black History Month Programme with a series of activities celebrating local Afro-Caribbean food cultures, stories, and, of course, delicious dishes!
.
During Black History Month the women behind the Good Food Collective ran several events to celebrate the diverse food cultures in the borough, and to talk about care for their community, access to good food and activism. These events brought together local cooks, residents and guests from outside the borough; spotlighting the richness and complexity of African and Caribbean food cultures in our communities.
.
Left: Fozia Ismail, Arawelo Eats (Photo Emli Bendixen, Vice Munchies) Right: Dee Woods, Granville Community Kitchen (Photo Orlando Gili, Borough Market)
On Thursday 22nd October we hosted an online talk with the brilliant Fozia Ismail of Arawelo Eats and Deirdre Woods of Granville Community Kitchen. There’s never been a more important time to be talking about food justice, racism in our food systems, and people’s rights to healthy food….So we were thrilled to be joined by previous Digesting Politics guests Dee Woods (Granville Community Kitchen) and Fozia Ismail(Arawelo Eats). Dee and Fozia talked to us about their work in sharing food to strengthen communities; as well as talking about some important food issues close to their hearts: from Food and Land Justice, to Decolonising the Food Industry.
.
PRODUCTS PHOTOSHOOT WITH JENNIFER BALCOMBE – 1ST OCTOBER 2020
.
.
Photos Good Food Collective Family Photo, Bri’s Kitchen, Oyin’s Chocolate, Plantastic, Kharal Masala, Catia’s Cuisine, Temptations by Nikki, SamStel Sauces, all photos by Jennifer Balcombe, Courtesy of the Good Food Collective and Company Drinks.
.
THE GOOD FOOD COLLECTIVE COMMUNITY COOKS: TEST COOK + PHOTOSHOOT WITH MARIA KHAN 30th SEPTEMBER 2020
.
On the 30th September, the group got together at the Every One Every Day shop and kitchen in Barking, to test out their recipes on each other and to do a photoshoot with local photographer Maria Khan!
.
It was a clear THUMBS UP from all the group on the dishes, and we think you’ll agree that the photos came out brilliantly too!
Photos by Maria Khan, link.
.
THE GOOD FOOD COLLECTIVE PRODUCTS LAUNCH: SEPTEMBER 2020
.
On September 26th, the Good Food Collective launched on Barking Market, with a stall serving up samples and selling delicious food products; with jams, sauces, sweets and drinks, all made by local residents in Barking & Dagenham. The collective members worked tirelessly to pull together a product range of delicious, Barking & Dagenham Made products, all created with locally grown produce or tapping into their rich skills and food cultures.
.
On sale were:
Plantastic Apple & Damson Conserve and Damson & Sage Cordial link
Catia’s Cuisine, Marzipan Fruits & Roses link
Bri’s Kitchen, Roasted Veg Pasta Sauce and the Roasted Leek & Courgette Pesto link
Temptations by Nikki, Hibiscus Jam & homemade Chilli Sauce and Nikki’s Crunchy Chin Chin link
Kharal Masala, Curry Paste link
Cocoa Social Enterprise Loose Cacao Teas and Hand-Crafted Chocolate Treats link
SamStel Sauces, Jollof Sauce & Ayamase Sauce link
And, of course, some seasonal sodas and teas from Company Drinks and the Barking Grow Club.
.
B&D FOOD SURVEY
Are you a local food + drinks grower, trader or producer?
If you can spare 5-10 minutes, we’d really appreciate if you could fill in our LOCAL FOOD SURVEY and tell us a bit about what you love/want to see more of in Barking & Dagenham’s food systems
.
THE GOOD FOOD COLLECTIVE IS
Elisabetta Nasta
Nikki Elegbede – Temptations By Nikki
Kathy Mason – Plantastic
Toni Lötter – Ilford Village Honey
Elizabeth Osaglede – SamStel Sauces
Rubina Khan – Kharal Masala
Cátia Baxter – Catia’s Cuisine
Brigitta Budi – Bri’s Kitchen
Oyin Okusanya – Cocoa Social Enterprise CIC
Helen Bateman
Vince Thomas – LBBD
Lily Kwong – BeFirst
Watch this space in the coming months for much more about the group members and upcoming activities.
Find more at our instagram
.
Thanks for additional support from LBBD and their Black History Month Programme, and Every One Every Day for their ongoing support to individual Good Food Collective members.
