As well as running our own events at Replenish Oxfordshire, we love helping support groups bring their brilliant ideas to life. Thanks to funding from Oxfordshire County Council, we were able to offer grants for groups to run workshops and activities during The Soil Association’s Food For Life ‘Cook and Share‘ month.
Here we share some of the photographs, stories and quotes demonstrating the sheer pleasure and enjoyment that comes from something as simple as sharing food together.
Oxford City Farm Planet-Friendly Cooking: Go Plant-Based & Seasonal
Sophia from Oxford City Farm led two workshops focusing on cooking in a way that’s good for people and the environment, using affordable, seasonal ingredients. Their events also featured in one of the Food For Life blog posts, helping to spread the joy of the project and highlight the power of food to connect communities.
The entire group had a wonderful time, with one participant sharing their enthusiasm saying:
‘The session gives me great inspiration to start cooking again!’
They made simple soups and some delicious looking golden-brown savoury scones. This meant everyone could get involved regardless of their cooking skills.
Northway Together: A taste of the Caribbean
In celebration of Black History Month, Northway Together introduced a special cooking event featuring traditional Caribbean cooking. They had a great turnout and people loved the food – as they expected!
‘The kitchen vibes were great today – thanks to all that came … Big up to chef Dave and helpers.’
Part of Northway Together’s mission is to reach people who can’t make it on the day for whatever reason – this is absolutely appreciated as reflected by this feedback:
‘Am super excited, awaiting my takeaway meal from this amazing, necessary, inclusive, quality place.’
Bridge Street Community Garden: An Afternoon with Nasreen
Bridge Street Community Garden organised a cultural ‘cook and share’ to showcase local community member Nasreen’s incredible life experiences, cherished recipes, and inspiring dedication to community care in Grimsbury.
Nasreen prepared the most delicious food, featuring two types of rice—one savoury and one sweet—alongside hearty lentils. Her dedication shone through as she handed out bilingual recipe flyers, encouraging everyone to recreate her wonderful dishes at home.
Nasreen’s granddaughter Zainab supported her grandma throughout, preparing a fresh salad and helping to serve over 50 portions of food! Zainab reflects on her experience of helping her grandmother in this short video. The community garden have received lovely messages about how much everyone enjoyed the flavoursome food and heartwarming stories from the day.
Stonehill Community Garden: Cooking Autumn Favourites
Stonehill Community Garden held four events each Wednesday lunch time in November. Led by Joanna, the groups made squash risotto, lentils, fried potatoes and onions and for the last session they had a ‘potluck’ lunch where they all brought something to share. Everyone really enjoyed the events and learnt different ways of preparing and cooking the vegetables grown in the garden.
It is clear from these quotes that participants and volunteers are in awe of Joanna’s cooking abilities.
‘I’m not a very adventurous cook so it’s been great to discover some new vegetarian dishes. The fact that Joanna manages to cook them outside on a rocket stove gives me the confidence to try at home. Eating together strengthens us as a community, it’s bonding time.’
‘One of my favourite parts of volunteering at Stonehill is lunch! Joanna always cooks us something lovely, she uses our own produce as much as possible and lunch is when we all come and sit together and eat and talk.’
‘I enjoy all the food cooked at Stonehill, even the simplest meal, onions and potatoes. I enjoy being able to smell what’s cooking while working. It is amazing how people cope with cooking on a stove that can’t be turned up or down easily.’
The Parasol Project: Hot Pots
The Parasol Project focussed on preparing hearty dishes from surplus, thanks to the Oxford Food Hub. Ten dedicated volunteers made over 100 pre-prepared food pots for the local area, providing meals for 30 people.
The knit, sew and natter group kindly provided suggestions for what to make with the food available. The young people who volunteered accrued at least 10 hours of volunteering time and developed their own cooking skills. Volunteer coordinator, Phil has been asked ‘when are you doing it again?’ on three separate occasions.
The volunteers were praised for their hard work finely chopping the vegetables and recipients fedback that the meals offered a greater variety of ingredients than they would usually include. As an added bonus, they were also able to hand out house plants to some local residents.
Any leftovers did not going to waste and were handed out to the local community or made into preserves, including some amazing crystalised ginger – a real winter warmer.
With much thanks to the staff and volunteers who give their time and energy to ensure these events are a success.
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