Small grant, big difference: helping Overgate Hospice bring people together

A cup of tea, a familiar face and a mixing bowl may not sound like much, but for people living with a life-limiting illness, these small moments can make a big difference. Thanks to a grant from our Community Foundation Fund, Overgate Hospice has been able to expand its cooking group, giving patients and carers the opportunity to cook, chat and simply enjoy spending time together.

Living with illness can affect energy, confidence, and independence, while also making household budgets more difficult to manage. With the cost of healthy food continuing to rise, Overgate Hospice wanted to offer something practical: cooking and baking sessions where people could learn to prepare simple, nutritious, and affordable meals using equipment and recipes they could realistically recreate at home.

Our Community Foundation Fund grant has helped purchase multi-cookers, portable hobs, cookware, utensils, measuring equipment, and food storage items. This means several people can now get hands-on in the kitchen and cook alongside one another, rather than simply watching. Crucially, there’s no pressure to be a brilliant cook. Everyone can get involved at whatever level feels right for them, whether that means preparing ingredients, stirring a mixture, or simply sitting alongside the group with a cup of tea and joining the conversation.

Because the equipment can be used again and again, the benefits will extend far beyond a single session or group of people. The funding will help Overgate Hospice continue developing its cooking activities, introduce new recipes and give more patients and carers the opportunity to learn new skills, build confidence and enjoy meaningful time together.

The team at Overgate Hospice said: “Your support through the EN Community Foundation Fund has already made such a lovely difference to our Cooking Group. The equipment is being used to help people cook, learn, laugh, share budget-friendly meal ideas and spend time together, and that is exactly what we hoped the project would create. Thank you again for supporting us, and for helping make these small but really meaningful moments possible.”

Overgate Hospice is just one example of the many organisations our Community Foundation Fund has supported this year, helping to reduce isolation and bring communities together across the regions Efficiency North’s members serve.