Delivering food parcels in his community: Daneel Phillips and Made in Hackney

We spoke to Poplar guardian Daneel back in April this year about his volunteering with Made in Hackney, a community cookery school that, when the pandemic hit, turned its hand to supporting vulnerable members of the local community.

We recently caught up with Khin, Volunteer Manager at Made in Hackney, to see how they’ve adapted over the past 18 months and how volunteers like Daneel contribute to the direct impact they are making in their community.

“When Made in Hackney started around nine years ago we were the first fully plant-based cookery school and charity in the UK. When the pandemic hit, we realised that we could offer our support, and that food was more important than ever. People still need meals, especially those who are vulnerable, and we could use our knowledge to run online classes for people at home.

“We crowdfunded like crazy to offer a community meal service, going door to door and delivering vegan meals by bike. We still continue our delivery service today, and meet at the Queen of Hoxton kitchen space each Tuesday and Thursday, where professional chefs cook 1,000 meals each week. Cyclists like Daneel come by at 4 o’clock and deliver to between 150 to 200 households.

“Daneel has done so many hours for us and we’re so grateful to him – he’s a terrific supporter! He’s even running the Hackney half marathon with some of our other volunteers, who are raising money for Made in Hackney.”

Property guardian Daneel has contributed almost 700 hours of volunteering during his time with Dot Dot Dot, with many of these going towards his work with Made in Hackney.

“This is my first time volunteering consistently. I’d been meaning to do it for such a long time and the fact that it’s part of my guardianship is great as it gave me the drive and encouragement I’d been waiting for. Now I know it makes me feel good, improves my mental health and enables me to meet different people.”

Addressing health inequalities and food access in Hackney

Made in Hackney is about more than just food delivery. “Our ethos is really about addressing our community health crisis – on both a local and environmental level – to address issues with health inequalities, food access and climate change. The meals we cook and deliver are all local and sustainable – that’s why we use bicycles, too – and we are lucky enough to get donations from local providers like Edible London and Street Box.

“What we’re hoping for is that more people will be like Daneel and volunteer with us, especially cyclists and people who can come and help out in the kitchen. There’s all kinds of things you can help with, not just cooking – you can help with carrying supplies in or with portioning and packing up meals. We also need volunteers for our cookery school where you can join us as a class assistant. We induct volunteers into our school and teach them about vegan cooking. We are now able to hold our cookery classes in person as well as online at our kitchen in Clapham Common.”

If you’d like to find out how you can get involved in Made in Hackney, check out their volunteering page. If you’re interested in becoming a property guardian, take our short eligibility quiz.