Grant funding a recipe for success in Ammi’s Kitchen

On alternate Fridays, they run a popular community lunch at Common Ground for around 100 people from the local community. It is free for those on benefits or those who have no recourse to public funds, otherwise it is pay as you feel.

Janine Dos Remedios, kitchen manager at Ammi’s said:

We’re incredibly grateful to South Yorkshire’s Community Foundation for funding Ammi’s Kitchen. It’s a unique project and the money we have received will help us to spread the word on social media about the amazing dishes these talented women create.

Our hub at Common Ground Community Centre provides a welcoming atmosphere where women tell us they feel safe. This enables us to support women that wouldn’t usually have the confidence to look for work in the wider community.

They tell us that they can’t apply for jobs as they don’t know how, but they trust us and feel happy to work with us as they know we will help and guide them. The food they cook is loved by our customers - this year we have had chefs from Pakistan, Iraq, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Turkey.

As well as the weekly takeaway and community lunches, we also offer catering for events. We have been booked to cater for working lunch events and personal events. It is great for the women to see different aspects of working in a professional environment and people get tasty food for their event, it’s a win-win!

Working is incredibly important for the ladies. They gain so much self-esteem from being able to say they have a job. For some, it is life changing, it might be their first job. They are so proud to be able to contribute financially to their household, and buy things for themselves.

 

Family Voice provides bespoke courses for women facing barriers to employment by supporting food.

Janine added:

Once women have gained their certificates, they can get paid hours working in our professional kitchen, which has a five-star hygiene rating.

This year we have also run a bespoke 12-week course to support a group of seven women who wanted to start up their food business. These women have made huge progress and many have registered and started selling their goods. They run their own pop-up lunches at city centre venues.

 

SYCF, based in High Green, is the region’s largest local grant giving charity and in the last year, awarded £1.7m to more than 400 groups across South Yorkshire.

Jess O’Neill, grants and partnership manager for SYCF, said:

We’re really proud to support Ammi’s Kitchen with this grant, helping the group continue its incredible work in bringing communities together through food.

The project provides a free, safe space for women who have exceptional culinary skills learnt from generations before them. By investing in groups like this, we’re doing more than just funding kitchens – we’re celebrating culture, encouraging new connections, promoting community cohesion and creating life-changing new opportunities.

 

Ammi’s Kitchen is hosting its first Curry Night fundraiser on 26 April from 6.30pm to 9pm at Common Ground Community Centre, Woodstock Road, Sheffield S7 1HA.

The kitchen will be serving a Nepalese meal - starter, curry, daal, rice and dessert for £20. Tickets are limited so book a place via ammiskitchensheffield@gmail.com.

For more information, please visit www.ammiskitchensheffield.org.