Combating food poverty in South London

As the cost of living crisis continues, community groups find innovative ways to help local people

Words: Joaquim A. Neto

Beneath Southwark’s bright and flamboyant culture and leisure in Zone 1, there is still a much-needed hidden community struggling to make ends meet amidst the rapid changes in their neighbourhood and the country.    

We spoke with two groups dedicated to improving the lives of these communities in South London – OCA Community Kitchen CIC (Community Interest Company), which, among many activities, provides food and cooking classes to low-income families, and Draper Together Association CIO (Charitable Incorporated Organisation), initially formed to support the members of the Draper Estate through a variety of social and cultural activities and initiatives. Nowadays, it also offers a vibrant community hub to those living in Elephant & Castle and people across London. 

Although both enterprises work in the same field and have many common grounds and values, important differences exist between the organisations related to their own needs. While OCA’s primary challenge is constantly trying to secure a definitive venue for its activities, as expressed by Jose, Founder, and Martin —  Director and Project Manager, for Draper Together, which has a permanent place, the challenge is to secure unrestricted funding and manpower, volunteers, says Chalice — Draper’s Director. Through those different needs, they crossed each other’s pathways. Draper Together has held OCA’s appreciation day and cooking class sessions during the holiday period while often collecting the food not sold at OCA Food Shop to distribute to their community for free. Nothing goes wasted.  

Despite limited analysis of the British 2021 census, a 2016 study by King’s College, combined with the data from the 2011 census, estimates that there were approximately 250,000 Latin Americans in the UK, with around 145,000 alone in London. It is one of the fastest-growing migrant and ethnic groups and still counting. Mostly in Southwark and Lambeth boroughs, followed by Haringey, Lewisham, Wandsworth, and Camden. Spanish is the translators’ most requested language by GPs in those areas.    

About OCA Community Kitchen 

OCA Community Kitchen is the brainchild of Jose Luis Garcia, born in Bilbao (Spain), a chef by profession who was inspired by the spirit of the “Cholitas”, a group of women farmers, mothers and housewives from the Sierras of Peru, Ecuador and Bolivia, who were responsible for the harvest of OCA — a root vegetable. He started the project due to the high demand to tackle food insecurity during the COVID-19 pandemic.  

The project is a growing enterprise that must constantly adapt to the country’s current economic circumstances. It started with an initial pop-up food bank at Burgess Park, Southwark Borough, followed by a venue in Kennington, a store inside a shopping centre in Wandsworth, and currently at Ashmole Tenants Hall via the support of MTVH — Metropolitan Thames Valley Housing Association in Lambeth Council. However, they are only allowed to use the venue on Saturdays.  

All this moving around takes a lot of effort and time negotiating until it gets to the final paperwork securing places that, unfortunately, so far, has only lasted for short periods. It also adds to the costs of paying for other venues to pilot some of their initiatives, such as children’s cooking classes and English and IT classes that help the community integrate into English society. The children’s projects have brought together many younger people from these underprivileged groups, assisting the parents in having something fun and valuable during the school holiday. It is also important to note that the waiting period for children starting at school in Lambeth can vary from 6 weeks to over 26 weeks, depending on their age. Adults are often more reluctant to join those initiatives due to other health and stress levels, but those who enter the classes soon feel more comfortable and at ease. The English classes give the participants much-needed confidence in pronunciation and vocabulary so they can achieve some of the basic things we take for granted, such as getting a better job. Not having a permanent venue to operate on a daily basis also makes it challenging to bring those classes, particularly the IT classes, to life, once it requires a more sophisticated security system to guarantee the maintenance of the equipment that is ready to be used.    

Another inspiring project piloted during COVID-19 was the mental health sessions via Zoom, where participants would share and talk about their experiences and struggles in a safe environment. Although this project is on hold due to the abovementioned, OCA’s community kitchen provides mental support through all its activities in many ways. There are far too many painful and sad stories to be told and heard, but volunteers and users are uniting in saying about the benefits, good feelings, and sentiments of belonging from Saturday’s working days and all the other activities.  

Only able to work on Saturdays, OCA brings a small battalion of 30 to 50 volunteers, the majority from Latin American countries, from 9 am to 6 pm, rain or shine, to work and network with many in the same situation.    

With so much to do in such a short period, the team is composed of team leaders, juniors, and general volunteers from all over London, having the opportunity to progress in their roles and responsibilities based on their experiences, but above all, on how long they have been working with the organisation.    

Tasks are organised by area for the food and clothes shop, open to the public from 2 pm to 5 pm. It is a massive coordinated operation supported by a few members going straight to the kitchen to prepare a comforting and traditional meal for those working on the day.    

Deliveries are happening at the same time as well as recycling and regular waste collections, among other tasks such as cleaning the venue, kitchen, toilet, and outdoors. Sitting areas are put in place to accommodate the customers while they wait for their time to buy their weekly food supply and perhaps some second-hand ready-to-wear items in perfect condition, carefully selected and organised under the eyes of Mirna, the ready-to-wear team leader, welcoming the customers with her knowledge and bright warm smile. 

As Martin says, “OCA is a social good, is looking up food as a common good, that is something that everybody should have,” and from there come many other advantages.   

Martin Miranda Antelo is from Bolivia and understands the problems of the Latin community from within. He was raised in South London and was no stranger to the organisation for several years. With an MA in Regeneration, he joined OCA as Director. He received the ‘Rising Star Award: Extraordinary Talent 2024’ sponsored by Clapham Park at the BeLambeth Awards for his current works.  

Previously, OCA could function as a regular food banking organisation, giving food for free. Lately, it had to change it to a food shop model to raise at least enough money to cover the logistics costs that increased due to the fact they can only use the space once a week, which was often paid for by Jose’s pocket. Nonetheless, prices are almost symbolic. Customers can buy 12 products for £5 or 20 products for £10, comprising a sizable number of items. There are also some free options to add to the customer’s basket, such as meal combos supplied by other local businesses. Being able to pay for their items gives the citizens a sense of worthiness and that, whilst in a difficult situation, they are still able to choose what they need and can afford compared to many who are in worse conditions in the UK and around the world.    

Although volunteers are not remunerated for those working days, it is not as straightforward as it sounds. Only by joining these activities, many of those who still hold the asylum seeker or refugee status, start immediately to feel a sense of belonging and integration. Listening to the experiences of those who have already been through the same steps or are halfway into their processes, they all learn from each other. Once at OCA, problems seem to disappear, at least during that couple of work hours, among people who are familiar with their background, struggles and mother language. The past shared memories and new moments are created together, putting a new and hopeful smirtle on their faces, helping each other, giving and receiving.   

Being part of the community also adds to some prerequisites that the Home Office considers when deciding to approve a visa request, such as being part of a trustworthy organisation that can certify their collaboration, as mentioned by one of the Senior volunteers, in addition to learning English. 

Navigating life changes is a big part of those types of organisations. A good example was when COVID-19 restrictions were lifted with the hope that the economy would return, and councils’ support has taken different directions. Suddenly, OCA had a massive network of food donors who had to find ways not to waste the food quickly, and among many attempts to distribute it locally, Jose ended up taking it to Ukraine. It’s incredible how such a small organisation for the Latin Community in South London suddenly goes that far in helping those who need a fast response to their circumstances. Jose told us, “I contact a lot of organisations, too many persons, and nobody needs the food or like it. So, I said ok, that is fine; let me try to find another person to send it. So, I contacted a few organisations, and one said yes, please, straight away. So, we did.”  

Martin explained that OCA’s main challenges and complexities are divided into four themes. The First one is to bring the food, the second is waste and recycling the food, followed by the finances to pay for the logistics, and last but not least, the relationship management, which goes from official government departments, administrators, councillors, volunteers and customers.     

About Draper Together 

Draper Together Charity was created in 2016 by the TRA — Tenancy Residency Association to be able to do more for their members and the local community. Like all residents who are automatically members, Chalice Richardson, now the Director, who has lived there for many years, initially joined the charity as a trustee by invitation from the then Director, Luisa Petrolani, who left her role during the COVID-19 pandemic. As a result of the pandemic, the charity found itself in a very precarious situation. Having experience in the field through his CIC (Community Interest Company) BE Empowerment that supports education and other social work activities, Chalice found himself in the position to step up to continue the goals of the charity within the new circumstances and be more aligned with the Annual General Meeting (AGM) results. Members voiced for the charity to be more representative of who they were and their current needs. “The whole purpose of the charity was to ensure that it met the needs of the marginalised people, under the state, within the borough of Southwark, and one thing I noticed was that it wasn’t doing that”, said Chalice.  

With the daily basic prices increased, such as energy bills and food, the charity started to focus on what would help the community immediately, like food they could afford. Before, many older adults could go to the old Elephant Castle shopping centre and have a full meal for £7, with a cup of tea and dessert included. With all the changes, those prices are nowhere to be found in the area anymore. The area has changed dramatically.  

Having a permanent venue allows the charity to focus on many immediate needs, maximising the space during the seven days of the week as much as possible. The Draper Together food bank is open for those in need every Monday morning and Thursday afternoon, distributing much-needed food. Every Wednesday, the Food Hub & Bingo brings many old community members together for fun and a comfortable meal. On Friday afternoon, early evening, the Draper Kids Club for children from 7 to 11 years old empower them to “engage with young people in a funny environment that is also very learning and conducive to their growth and development”, says Chalice, at the same time support parents that can have some extra hours to themselves assured their children are in a safe environment, also with a meal included in the past two years. All are free of charge. This initiative also helps many of those who are provisionally living at the nearby Brit Hotels Elephant Castle, which temporarily welcomes many foreign families in difficult situations, often with children who are also able to benefit from Draper activities—helping them to integrate into the UK society and values at the same time getting familiar with the English language.  

On top of those fixed activities, Draper Together is available to hire for various events, community events, corporate workshops and conferences, creative workshops, filming and production and even weddings and parties, which helps the cash flow for the other activities.  The venue has an outdoor area that is perfect for gatherings during spring and summer.  

To help fulfil the significant staff and volunteers’ shortage, they partner with an organisation called Women in Prison, “a national charity that supports women affected by the criminal justice system and campaigns to end the harm caused to women, their families and our communities by imprisonment”. However, securing volunteers is a big priority for the charity, which still lacks unrestricted funding to be able to take on all its activities smoothly and to pay for one full-time manager to free the Director who, in theory, would only devote two days a week to the charity, nevertheless work mostly of the time 7 days. He has to do many other works on top of all his activities, such as driving the van for all collections from partners: Tesco, Nando’s, Coop, FareShar, The Felix Project, OCA and others in different shapes and frequencies, while managing the venue and all the essential paperwork and daily decisions. 

Being at Elephant & Castle, I asked Chalice if there have been any collaborations with LCC/UAL — London College of Communication/University of the Arts London, which he told me not currently. There was some collaboration in the past with one art department that has sent students to work with young people in the making of a mural at the venue. Chalice says he would love to have more of this type of collaboration once he thinks that “a lot of young people, current in Southwark and here in the state, might be somewhat intimidated by the college, with what the university does. It is not an easy thing to do, to visit the campus, especially if you are not sure if your grades are well or good enough to get you in”. He adds that “it would be perfect to reach out to young people at Draper who are often, currently at that stage in life where they are undecided on what they want to be, where they will study, where they want to go”. 

OCA is still searching for a permanent venue; they continue to evolve using the places they can for their classes, soon starting to use the Holmsdale Community Centre in Poplar and Bonnington Centre Community Association in Vauxhall. However, they still hope to secure a place where they began, Southwark or Lambeth. Draper Together has many open places to be filled by volunteers to fulfil several roles and continue improving its services.  

Both enterprises are united in making good and bringing those who need it in their areas despite the challenges and changes we constantly face. One thing won’t change: they will keep going against and with the tide, harnessing and fostering those who come to them, contributing to a better and brighter world.  

OCA Community Kitchen  

Ashmole Tenants Hall – 2 

Meadow Rd, London SW8 1 QB 

Draper Together 

Draper Hall, 1 Howell Walk 

Elephant and Castle, Southwark

London SE1 6TL 

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Featured image by OCA Community Kitchen