
Kinship Kitchen:
Building Stronger Families and Communities
Kinship Kitchen is a Community Interest Company dedicated to supporting kinship families in South London and other vulnerable groups within the community. Through initiatives such as community cooking groups, cooking clubs, and food surplus donations, we aim to address food poverty, combat social isolation, and promote meaningful community connections.
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Our work also fosters children’s self-esteem, encourages peer support, and strengthens local ties by collaborating with grassroots projects like Feed The Hill and Restorative Justice for All, as well as partnering with local schools and community centres. Together, we strive to create a more inclusive, supportive, and resilient community.
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How we started:
Kinship Kitchen was started to connect socially isolated kinship carers with their peers to foster a sense of community. Our goals were to support children’s growth mindset through engaging activities, strengthening family bonds through positive shared experiences and promoting health and independence through culturally relevant, nutritious cooking.​
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What we do:
Since 2020, we have been running weekly trauma informed, social cooking groups for kinship carers and children. We provide a safe space for connection, learning, and growth through offering activities that improve mental health, promote secure attachments, and reduce placement breakdown risks.
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Our Impact:
Reduced isolation and better mental health for carers, boosted confidence and growth mindset for children, increased independence skills (14+), and healthier eating habits in families and reduced reliance on food donations.
Theough out catering service, we offer igh-quality catering services for clients such as NHS, Google, Local Authorities and national charities. We do this through flexible training and employment opportunities for kinship carers and young people, offering them pathways to economic independence and skillbuilding.
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Why our model works:
We offer a culturally inclusive group, which has been made accessible to diverse communities. and has been able to be flexible and responsive to social and economic changes. In the five years of running our cooking club groups, we have seen that participantion has helped build secure attachments and strengthens family bonds in participants; assisted in early identification of social or family challenges.
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Kinship Kitchen in the media:
We're honoured to have been featured as an agency that is helping to break community isolation for individuals in the Community Connections Lewisham's latest video (from 1:43 minute mark):