Salaam Shalom Kitchen
We are a joint Muslim/Jewish project founded on the belief that working together across communities and perceived boundaries helps build community cohesion and break down barriers.
We serve 50-70 hot meals every Wednesday night between 5.30- 7.30pm, to those in need in Hyson Green, Nottingham from the Bridge Centre on Gregory Boulevard.
Our weekly guests are a diverse group of individuals: some are experiencing food poverty or loneliness. Some may be experiencing homelessness, mental health issues or substance misuse; we also serve meals to refugees and asylum seekers as well as those with low-income or benefits issues. While most are adults, we also regularly have families with children attending.
We collaborate and receive referrals from local agencies, including Framework, the Nottingham Refugee Forum, POW, Arimethea Trust and local GPs. However, many people come to us through word of mouth and everyone is welcome.
We do not ask for any information from our guests when they arrive and there is no charge for food, but donations are welcomed from those who are able.
SaSh offers a friendly environment, a hot meal and company, often accompanied by musical entertainment and sometimes talks. In addition to serving meals on-site, we also give away any leftover food in takeaway boxes.
The steering group and trustees of Salaam Shalom Kitchen are predominantly from the Muslim and Jewish Communities but this is not a requirement for being involved. We are pleased to welcome anyone who wishes to get involved.
Information coming soon…
Our ethos is to bring together volunteers from many communities, to make friends and work for social change. We have a wide range of people who volunteer at the project offering a few hours of their time to help. Volunteers may be interested individuals or from organisations.
We are delighted to be supported once a month by members of the Catholic community of St. Barnabus Cathedral, who cook food off site and bring it and serve and clear up.
We also receive support from Nottingham Liberal Synagogue, Nottingham Trent University and Nottingham University students, and various Muslim organisations, including the Pakistan Forum, Pakistan Centre, An Nisa Network, Al Zahra Institute. Other organisations that have volunteered or hosted evenings at SaSh include: The Pagan Society, Rothera Sharp Solicitors, Rebel Recruitment, The Vine Centre, Al Ahmadiyya Community, Elmswood GP surgery and the Malaysian Society. We have several local restaurants who very kindly regularly provide delicious cooked food for free to support us. We gratefully thank Chappati Junction and Khyber pass, Chaudhury catering, Madni Sweets, Royal Sweets.
We welcome individual volunteers from the student population and the wider community. We are able to accommodate one or two young people at a time who are working towards their Duke of Edinburgh Awards, but please be aware under 16’s are not allowed in the kitchen. We are open between 4 and 8 pm 50 weeks a year and we need volunteers to help prepare and serve food and hot drinks, chat to our guests and to help with clean-up.
Offering a few hours of your time once or twice a month would help us a lot, and is an opportunity to make new friends and do something significant and useful. If you are interested in volunteering, or if you want more information, please contact us.
The Salaam Shalom Kitchen was a joint idea and initiative started by Nottingham Liberal Synagogue and Himmah, a Nottingham based Muslim charity. It was initially started with a grant from ‘Near Neighbours’ in 2015. Since then we have relied on small donations from local people and organisations. We became a registered charity in 2016. We were delighted in 2017 to be awarded a grant from National Lottery ‘Awards for All’. We continue to look for further funding options to ensure the long-term continuation of the project.
In 2017 we were recognised nationally when we won the Mitzvah Day: 365 Award. Some of our team travelled to London for the awards ceremony, knowing we had been shortlisted and were delighted and honoured when we won.
Mitzvah day is a Jewish run charity that supports organisations to undertake social action. Every year there is a big push for one day of social action; encouraging people of all faiths and backgrounds to take part. However the ethos is to continue worthwhile social action all year round.
SaSh was awarded the 365 award: “For the community or organisation that impresses with social action and or building relationships all year round”. We had big competition from other excellent projects, so were really delighted to be honoured and recognized for the work we do.