LOVE FOOD LEGACY
Food, Wellbeing and Life Skills for Young Carers #HelpUsHelpOthers
Dishes of Change
Our Mission: Food as a Vehicle for Change
With more than a decade of experience in food justice, LGK has built a collection of long-standing projects that made a meaningful difference in their time and remain relevant today.
COVID-19 Response Support
During the pandemic, we launched online cooking sessions to help low-income families maximize nutrition using basic household staples. By focusing on items already in their cupboards, we empowered households to maintain food security and health through digital education and community support during a time of global crisis.
DISHES IN THE CUPBOARD
Building a Virtual Community
Digital Dishes represents the evolution of our emergency response into a permanent virtual hub. By providing live and digitised recipes, we foster essential cooking skills and create a lasting sense of belonging through interactive food education and collaborative learning.
Social Supermarket
In development – LGK during 2022-2023 undertook an in-depth feasibility of how food banks were becoming part of the problem not the solution. The idea of an American initiative of a social supermarket was explored which offers a normalised shopping experience to those on low income and living in poverty. Using the beneficiaries as assets the idea is to create a market that is run by those that use it. The study showed that north Birmingham needs a three-tier approach which includes a HQ social supermarket, a sustainable food offer and a mobile market in schools which are trusted sites.
DIGITAL DISHES
Moving Beyond Food Bank Dependency
Our £69,500 feasibility study in North Birmingham in 2023 identified a critical failure: long-term dependency on emergency food banks. We propose a sustainable American-inspired Social Supermarket model. This transition ensures food banks return to their emergency-only purpose while providing a dignified, community-led solution that addresses the root causes of food poverty.
Comprehensive shopper surveys completed
Successful pilot pop-up markets
Active participating families
Insufficient for basic weekly essentials
Engineering Sustainability with ARUP
Our partnership with ARUP focuses on creating resilient, modular infrastructure. By developing a ‘flat-pack’ design for the Magnet Centre, we ensure long-term flexibility and asset protection. This multipurpose food hub is engineered for sustainability, providing a dignified and efficient community space that adapts to evolving social needs.
The Strategic Way Forward: A Three-Tier Model
Tier 1:
Modular Supermarket/HQ
A central modular hub serves as the backbone of our operations, combining bulk storage with education and membership-based shopping to ensure long-term sustainability and dignity for every member of the community.
Tier 2:
Hot Food Hub
Our hub provides high-quality, affordable family meals from Monday to Friday. It acts as a vital resource for nutrition, reducing food insecurity through a scalable, chef-led model designed for urban density.
Tier 3:
Mobile School Supermarkets
Bringing the solution directly to families, our mobile units serve trusted school spaces in Handsworth. This agile approach removes transport barriers, integrating essential food access into the daily routines of vulnerable households.
Let's Talk
Join us in scaling our impact and nourishing the future of Birmingham’s local communities.