Railway House, a community support service for 16–25-year-olds, has been awarded a £1,588 grant to run a six-week cooking course for residents and provide each young person with a full set of kitchen equipment. The grant was awarded by Cambridgeshire Community Foundation (CCF).

The intention is for residents to learn to cook meals that they can batch cook and freeze, with Tupperware included in the set of kitchen equipment to get them started.

Railway House in Cambridge provides accommodation and support for young people aged 16-25 who are homeless or at risk of homelessness. The accommodation consists of 12 individually fully furnished rooms with shared facilities including kitchens, sitting rooms and bathrooms. The staff also offer residents personal support to enable them to make positive changes in their lives, alongside a wide range of social activities.

Michelle Davies, Service Manager at Railway House, said: 

We are extremely grateful for the grant we have received from CCF. At Railway House our goal is not just to provide accommodation for young people at risk of homelessness, but to support them to develop the vital skills they need to get themselves to the next stages of their lives – whether that be further education or work. Cooking is absolutely one of these life skills and is very transferrable for potential careers, so it’s brilliant we’ve been able to give our residents new opportunities to reach their potential. Our young people have been really enjoying taking part in the course so far, and we’ve loved seeing their culinary creations!

CCF is dedicated to improving the quality of life for the people of Cambridgeshire. Their vision is to reduce inequality and enable communities to help themselves through grants and community programmes.

Photo by Edgar Castrejon on Unsplash