Lily’s Social Kitchen CIC
Work experience for vulnerable adults
Opportunities for people from all walks of life to access work and training using the power of food
Lily’s Social Kitchen CIC creates opportunities for people from all walks of life to access work and training using the power of food. They offer employment and work experience to those who are often overlooked including the homeless, those with mental health, learning disabilities, autism or adjusting to life after prison.
In 2020, Lily’s Social Kitchen CIC was awarded £14,000 from the KCF Resilience Grants fund to help the organisation cover overheads while cafes had to remain closed, as well as contributing to costs for their Ashford catering unit which was delivering free food parcels to those most in need and affected by the impact of COVID.
Zoe Rodda, Director, Lily’s Social Kitchen, said, “At Lily's we support people into paid, meaningful employment. This is either in our own cafes, kitchens and offices but we also work to support local employers to diversify their workforce. The funding from Kent Community Foundation, particularly in 2020, supported us to pivot our business and support our local communities with free food parcels and free ready meals while our cafes were closed. This meant we were able to continue supporting some of our trainees, and our first apprentice who has a diagnosis of autism completed her level 2 in production kitchen at the end of February 2021. Without funding we would not have been able to continue to support her learning. We have now employed her in our kitchens so she can continue to learn and develop while we look for the perfect job for her in a mainstream workplace. She is an asset to our team!' Thank you, Kent Community Foundation, for all your support.”
The team at Lily’s Social Kitchen CIC has been recognised twice by The High Sheriff of Kent in the High Sheriff awards in 2020 and again in 2021 thanks to their work and support for people who struggle to find meaningful employment.
