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Adults with learning disabilities in Newcastle are cooking up exciting new skills in the kitchen thanks to the ambitions of local charity Journey Enterprises and new funding from Newcastle Building Society.
Journey Enterprises, which celebrates its 40th anniversary next year, provides specialist support for adults with learning disability. With four Day Centres in Hexham, Newcastle, Bishop Auckland and Blyth, its services enable adults with learning disability to develop life and work skills, and to lead active, inclusive and fulfilling lives.
With the support of a £3,000 grant, the Charity has bought two Norseman mobile cooking units which include hobs, ovens and storage space.
These are being used at the former Shandon Way Community Centre which became Journey’s Newcastle Day Centre in April 2021. The grant has also enabled Journey to install a pizza oven in the garden from where it will be selling the food its clients make to local people via a new social enterprise.
The funding has been provided through our Community Fund, administered by the Community Foundation Tyne & Wear. The Fund awards grants to charities and community groups located in or around the communities served by our branch network.
Maggie Leadbeater, Journey’s operations manager and safeguarding lead, says: “For some of our service users, working with us provides the first time they’ve had the chance to learn to cook for themselves and you can see the confidence that gaining new kitchen skills gives them.
“Whether they use these skills at home or to go in to part-time employment in the food sector, our Norseman units will give service users a wonderful platform to practice.”