Crystal Palace’s Joel Ward (left) helps prepare meals at The Palace Kitchen, who will be continuing to supply food to those in need into next month. Photo: Dan Weir/PPAUK.
The Palace Kitchen project is being extended into February so that thousands of local people in need can continue to receive nutritious food.
Palace Kitchen, based at Crystal Palace’s Selhurst Park stadium and backed by the Palace for Life Foundation charity, has delivered more than 27,000 meals in the past year, providing a lifeline to vulnerable individuals and families, including the elderly, those in emergency housing and the homeless.
Chefs at the club prepare around 350 meals a day, four days a week, which are distributed by project partner City Harvest.
The Palace Kitchen was set up with funding from the club and individual shareholders, to cover the costs of purchasing fresh ingredients, preparing nutritious meals and safely packing and labelling them ready for collection and distribution.
The Palace Kitchen has been preparing and distributing 1,400 meals a week to 10 local charities
More than £10,000 has been raised through the generosity of Palace fans, who have donated through a JustGiving page, which continues to help fund this amazing project. Funds have also been raised by supporters who have taken part in the virtual Palace for Life Super Draw.
Meals from the Palace Kitchen have been distributed to 10 local charities and organisations, including Look Ahead, which supports rough sleepers; Mala, a network of four south London foodbanks giving out food parcels; Solace Women’s Aid, a refuge for woman and children escaping violence and abuse; Burgess Park House, a hostel for homeless veterans; and the Family Centre in New Addington and Legacy Youth Zone in north Croydon, which support local families in poverty.
Sarah, a local mother, was one of Palace Kitchen’s earliest recipients last spring, having lost her job at the start of lockdown while pregnant and with a two-year-old daughter at home.
“The food we get is lovely,” she said. “The meals are amazing and they are delicious and healthy too.
Mike Summers: thanks to generous fans
“To know that Crystal Palace is providing for us is so nice and it’s such a great help for my family.”
Mike Summers, the Palace for Life Foundation chief executive, told Inside Croydon: “We are delighted to be able to keep the Palace Kitchen open throughout February, helping thousands of local people who rely on us for healthy, nutritious meals.
“We are grateful to the club for the funding, which enabled us to set up the project, and to the continuing generosity of Palace fans, which has allowed us to continue running it. We would also like to thank our partners City Harvest, who pick up the meals each day from Selhurst Park and distribute them to local voluntary organisations on the front line.”
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