Cooking for the Community

During the first lockdown in the Spring of 2020, and having received an initial donation of £1,000 from the Dorset Freemasons, The Swanage School was able to start providing free home-cooked meals for families and individuals in and around Swanage who would benefit from this service due to self-isolation, other vulnerabilities or hardships caused by the lock-down for the Covid-19 pandemic.

The service was offered to families known to the local schools, local charities and the food bank, to some elderly residents, and through referrals from the wider community.

With the benefit of a further donation from the Dorset Freemasons, and a £5,000 grant awarded by the Dorset Community Foundation to continue this as a joint project between our PTFA and the Friends of Swanage Primary, we were able to continue cooking throughout the Summer Term.

Using the school's facilities, our kitchen staff made and packaged up to 150 freshly cooked meals ready to be re-heated, three times a week, which were delivered to homes with the assistance of the motor-bikers of the Dorset Freemasons and school staff. By mid June over 1,800 meals had been delivered.

The project was resumed when schools were closed for the second time in January 2021 and continued until the school reopened at the start of March. Again, meals were freshly made and delivered three times a week, with a total of almost 3,000 meals being distributed. 

Our sincere thanks to the Dorset Freemasons, who also donated to our PPE Project, to The Dorset Community Foundation and to the Friends of Swanage Primary and our PTFA for securing the funding grant.