what we do
Building Co-operative Communities:
We run an open access, cooperative community space where everyone is welcome and welcomed 5 days per week, from Socco Cheta Community Hub on Portland Road. We are run by and for the community, and central to our work bringing people together is the making and sharing of freshly-cooked, nutritious, hot meals made from food that would otherwise go to waste.
We’re proud to work in collaboration with Reaching Higher to run our Youth Caff, a youth-run weekly space for local young people to come and meet friends, chill, have some food and stay off the streets. At the youth caff local young people learn cooking skills, customer service, project management and, importantly, collective ways of living together as a community.
Youth Caff runs on Monday evenings from 4pm-6pm. To find out more or sign a young person to youth caff, go to Reaching Higher’s website here https://www.reachinghigher.org.uk/
We redistribute resources back into the community so that everyone can get what they need to live well
We believe that there is plenty to go round, if you look at resources and capacity differently to how our society currently sees things. Over 90% of our ingredients come from food that would otherwise go to waste, and we currently serve around 330 meals every week. This is possible because of the incredible people that power the kitchen and make this possible.
As well as hot meals, we also give out groceries as part of our Community Lunch on a Saturday from 9am, and have a small amount also available during the week.
Anytime that we are open we also redistribute donated clothes, bedding, kitchenware, nappies and toiletries.
Changing social conditions
We use food as a mechanism to bring people together across difference, untap our collective power and change the social conditions that oppress us and our fellow human beings. Over the last two years we have mobilised hundreds of local people on the cost of living crisis, local authority malpractice, local and national housing issues and the proposed closure of local community assets.
Alongside this strategic work, we provide signposting, information and ongoing support to guests in partnership with South West London Law Centres. This work feeds directly into our advocacy and campaign work, giving us the information on the ground that enables us to understand what our community needs and what needs to change.
Housing and homelessness
We continue to build power with residents of Regina Rd, having mobilised over 50 residents throughout 2021 and 2022 to demand better quality council housing from the Local Authority, and now chair a bi-monthly, cross sector housing and homelessness meeting, bringing together over 40 people from the charity sector, local authority and local councillors to work together to find sustainable solutions to the housing crisis in Croydon.
Community Assets
Aside from running our own community space, we organise to keep community assets in use for the community. Last year we ran a successful Save Our Nurseries campaign in order to maintain the much loved Maintained Nursery, Crosfield.
