Equipping households to cook healthy meals from scratch on a budget
Ever felt that decision fatigue about what to cook for dinner every single night? Now add in figuring out what to cook with hardly anything in the cupboards, or at the end of the month when money is tight. Takeaways are appealing but not friendly to the bank balance or body! Our family-friendly recipe boxes were designed by our own families to solve all of those problems at once; providing a series of recipe kits to cook over 30 different meals, which can be replicated for less than £3 per person.
We believe that every household should be able to cook with confidence on a budget, so we don’t means-test our support. Participants are welcome to donate towards the cost of their boxes or ‘pay it forward; to help cover the costs of the families, but everyone can access this recipe course project free of charge.
Achievements so far
How it works:
1.
Families are referred to us by our community partners including schools, charities, housing associations, social workers, as a household that would benefit from our recipe courses.
2.
We sign up a courseload of up to 20 households at a time. Our team of staff and volunteers prepare all the ingredients for each recipe based on the household size, and box it up ready for collection.
3.
Families collect their recipe boxes from our community spaces twice per week for six weeks, and enjoy cooking easy, affordable meals from scratch in their own kitchens.
Could your family benefit?
If you work with households that may benefit from our recipe course, or you’d like to find out more for your own household, get in touch with Selena, our Let’s Eat Project Lead.
History of the project
In 2021, Celebration Church Maidstone launched a project called “Celebrate Family Food” as part of its community outreach, with a vision to help local families cook healthy, hearty meals on a budget. Over the next 5 years, the project grew from strength to strength, supporting over 400 families to take sustainable steps away from the risk of food poverty. We are incredibly grateful for all that has been achieved and for everyone who has played a part in making the project successful.
In 2026, the project entered a new chapter and moved over to be delivered independently by The Neighbour Network. The same team continues to deliver the project with the same passion and commitment to serving local families, under a separate identity from Celebration Church. As part of this new chapter, we decided to rebrand the project, changing the name to “Let’s Eat!”.
The Neighbour Network recognises and honours Celebration Church for its foundational role in launching, nurturing and supporting the recipe project. Both organisations are committed to a positive project transition that serves local families well and avoids confusion in the community. We look forward to exploring avenues for future collaboration to support, empower and bless local families and our wider community.