I'm raising £2,500 because our community kitchen and café is under threat.

We began during the Covid-19 pandemic — as a grassroots mutual aid project, born out of urgency and compassion. When everything shut down, we stepped up.

We put ourselves on the front line in unsafe, uncertain times, making sure our neighbours were fed, supported, and not forgotten.

From that moment, we built The Farm Community Kitchen C.I.C. from scratch — not with money or privilege, but with care, sweat, and solidarity. We created a safe, supportive, and inclusive space in Leytonstone – offering hot meals, training for adults with special needs, food justice programmes, and community events.

But behind the scenes, we’ve been battling unsafe conditions and instability created by our landlords — which has not only disrupted our daily work, but also made it nearly impossible to access the long-term public and government funding we needed to grow and survive.

We’re not just a kitchen. We’re also a local sandwich shop and café, open to everyone.

We serve Perky Blenders coffee, fresh sandwiches, and reasonably priced breakfasts, lunches, and dinners — alongside summer BBQs and Community Days. A warm, welcoming place where neighbours connect, families feel safe, and no one is priced out.

Over time, we’ve facilitated around 300,000 meals for residents in need — made with care, shared with dignity, and delivered by local people for local people.

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But throughout our tenancy, we’ve faced serious harm from our landlords, including:

*No formal tenancy agreement ever put in place

*Unknowingly covering the electricity bills for the residential flats upstairs — for the entire duration of our tenancy

*Landlord’s failure to meet basic legal safety obligations, which has caused forced closures, loss of income, safety concerns — and made it difficult for us to access wider public and government funding**

*Verbal and physical threats from members of their family

*Ongoing disruption that made it unsafe and impossible to work

*A refusal to address or resolve any of the above — and an ongoing attempt to imply we brought this on ourselves or chose to operate this way

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This isn’t just about equipment or a building — It’s about the community we’ve built.

We’ve created a space where people can:

* Eat well, no matter their circumstances

* Train, volunteer, and gain confidence

* Connect with neighbours and access support

* Enjoy great coffee, fresh food, and genuine community

We’ve helped those with no safety net.

We showed up when others didn’t — and now we need our community to show up for us.

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We're raising funds to:

Move our kitchen equipment and café assets into secure storage

Protect everything we’ve worked for

Find a new home and prepare for another hard winter in these uncertain times

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Thanks so much for taking the time to visit our JustGiving page.

Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe — they’ll never be sold or used for unwanted emails. Once you donate, the funds will be withdrawn directly by me to cover these urgent needs.

This crowd-funder means more than just short-term help — it’s the vital support we’ve been blocked from getting elsewhere because of how we’ve been treated.

It’s a chance to protect our future, on our terms, and with our community behind us.

With thanks and solidarity,

Caz & The Farm Volunteer Team