Thank You to You and 2022 – Our Proudest Moments and What’s Next

How Much We’ve Grown

This time of year always merits a moment of reflection, a time to take stock of how far we’ve come and think about what’s in store for the year ahead.

2022 was an exceptionally busy year for us at Nourished Communities and we want to say a huge thanks to everyone that has been part of our journey so far. With your support we’ve been able to:

Open two new stores on Blackstock Rd (N5) and Blackhorse Ln (E17) - street names which will be eternally mixed up, swapped out and accidentally interchanged… We’ve been blown away by the warm welcome and sense of community these new communities have shown us. Each with their own community character, we can’t wait to continue building new connections and local partnerships in 2023.

Open a café at Kings Cross where we’ve hosted yoga sessions, book signing and sustainability events. Plenty more of this to come!

Grow our fantastic team to 15! Thanks to your support, we now provide jobs for 15 local people that care about community initiatives, supporting local businesses and good food.

Supporting hundreds of independent producers, ensuring investment in our communities, championing sustainability and ethical practices - we choose to work directly with producers and farms wherever we can, without the middleman. It’s a lot of work but means small businesses get the support they need to flourish. In contrast to large supermarkets and technology platforms often registered off-shore, when you shop local you are actively contributing to capital sequestration instead of capital evaporation.

Launch our first workshops and tastings with local makers and creators, giving you a taste of local produce and bringing the community together around puppy yoga, knife sharpening, needle-felting, wreath making…

Partner with local schools! From nourishing kids with healthy seasonal fruit and veg, to pumpkin carving, donating to fundraisers and attending school fairs. We love to support schools and would love to hear from you if you know of any opportunities that we can take part in.

Build a mushroom farm with the support of a circular economy grant from ReLondon to grow oyster mushrooms in the basement on Blackstock Rd with waste coffee grounds from local cafés.

To the year ahead

We’re delighted to have secured an investment of £200,000 to continue our mission to support local and nourish communities. What’s in store:

Tackling price inflation through bulk buying and launching our own brand products. With our own brand products you’ll get better quality, sustainable packaging and a lower price!

A plan to move our ancestral Canonbury home round the corner onto Upper Street. We’ve got our eye on a great new spot just a stone's throw from our first store. Nourished Communities wouldn’t exist without the support of Coexistance in setting up in their furniture store through Covid. From humble beginnings, the time is approaching for us to spread our wings for a pleasantly short flight.

Regular community workshops around fermentation, grow your own mushroom and veg etc. Watch this space!

In-store tastings and a food market to spotlight some of our favourite independent producers. Let’s keep it local and create ripples in our community baby!

More support for grass roots organisations within 2 miles of shops. Community projects, charities, schools and community businesses - we want to hear from you for a prosperous 2023. 

How you can help us? 

Do you know interesting causes, organisations or artists we can partner with or work with?

Do you know people who can advise on finance, marketing etc. in exchange for veggies, or anything else we can provide? 

Please tell your neighbours!

Anything else you can think of? No idea is too big or small. 

Organisations we have supported 

Ruth Hayman Trust which gives educational grants to refugees and asylum seekers. http://www.ruthhaymantrust.org.uk/ - They are always looking for volunteers!

Climate Fresk – Our cafe in Kings Cross is a Hub for these lovely people who teach people about climate change and what steps they can take to help our planet. https://climatefresk.org/ 

The Outside Project - London's LGBTIQ+ Community Shelter, Centre and Domestic Abuse Refuge. 

South Grove Primary School Walthamstow – we have attended their events and donated produce for the kids. 

The Catholic Church of the Blessed Sacrament – Food bank run by volunteers on a Wednesday and Thursday. 

The Underground Soup Kitchen – they do what it says on the tin! At Angel, Old Street, Farringdon, Holloway Road and Highbury stations, also always looking for volunteers.