News / charity
Community kitchen raising funds to stay ‘alive and thriving’
A community kitchen is raising funds to continue running its space for food, connection and care in Easton.
The Coexist Community Kitchen’s ‘Powered by Care’ crowdfunder launched on Thursday and has already raised over £9,000 of its £50,000 target, with every first donation up to £250 being doubled by Aviva Foundation.
Founded in 2011, the kitchen supports people experiencing marginalisation, food insecurity and financial hardships with cooking classes, food provisions, workshops and more.
is needed now More than ever
But with £300,000 required every year to keep their community kitchen running and funding applications being turned down repeatedly, Coexist sees this fundraising effort as their hope of keeping their home in east Bristol “alive and thriving”.
Salha Abdullah, a graduate of the community Kitchen’s cooking and entrepreneurship course now runs her own Sudanese street food stall, which will be trading on Wine Street on Friday – photo: Karen Johnson
“Our vision is simple: an inclusive world where everyone is nourished – not just fed, but deeply cared for”, the Coexist Community Kitchen team said on the fundraiser page.
But care like this, the team said, is “underfunded, undervalued and at risk”, pushing them to crowdfund.
They continued: “Access to funding is becoming harder than ever, with many long-standing funds now hugely oversubscribed.
“Like so many other grassroots organisations, we receive so much praise for the vital work we’re doing – but again and again, our funding applications are turned down due to intense competition, limited resources, and rising demand.
“As more people turn to the third sector for support, more organisations are being forced to compete for the same shrinking pots of funding – all while facing growing pressure and rising costs. We’re at a critical point of survival, and yet our work has never felt more needed.”
In 2024, over 5,000 people visited Coexist Community Kitchen to eat, cook, volunteer and connect – photo: Coexist Community Kitchen
Rewards in return for contributions to the crowdfunder include the chance to take over the Coexist kitchen for a day, vouchers for Bianchis, Wangs, FED, Hart’s Bakery and Better Food and free Bristol Beer Factory beer for a year.
Additionally, Coexist have curated Thai, Italian and Mexican supper club kits that organisations across the city can use for free to host supper clubs, proceeds from which can be donated to their crowdfunder.
Following their first target of £50,000, the community kitchen plans to push for a second target of £75,000 with all funds going towards food and supplies, rent and utilities, hygiene, safety and repairs, wages for team members, and travel support to ensure everybody can get to their kitchen’s premises.
Claudette, who has been visiting the Coexist kitchen for several years, was a chef from the Caribbean before she fled her home country and came to the UK. Being at the Coexist kitchen, she said, makes her feel “lifted”.
She added: “For me, it’s so unique – food brings us together like family, even if just for an hour.”
Speaking about the crowdfunding campaign and their work over the years, founder and director of Coexist, Ari Cantwell said: “We’ve been supporting people facing isolation, poverty, mental health struggles, addiction, displacement and many of life’s toughest challenges.
“Around our table, tens of thousands have found comfort, community and hope. When the world feels fractured, it’s these small, local acts of care that hold us together. This Crowdfunder is about making sure we can keep doing that — for another 14 years and beyond.”
The Coexist Community Kitchen’s Powered By Care crowdfunder is active until December 4
Main photo: Coexist Community Kitchen
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