The teenagers from different faith backgrounds had connected and shared stories while mastering new cooking skills.
Zaara, a participant from Salaam Peace, said afterwards: ''The interfaith gathering was such an inspiring experience, especially because it was my first time cooking in a group setting. Being surrounded by supportive young people from all backgrounds made it so much fun. We laughed, learned, and bonded over food—and I ended up really enjoying the whole experience.”
Participants of the interfaith cooking session, held in Project ImpACT's youth kitchen (Photo: Project ImpACT)[Missing Credit]
The teenagers used surplus food provided by The Felix Project. After hearing about the food poverty crisis, where four million children in the UK face food insecurity – the equivalent to one in four households - the teenagers cooked vegetable noodle stir fry and salad.
The meals were later delivered to local food banks and homeless shelters, including to Clandon House Food Bank, whose representatives spoke to the participants about their work and the increased need for food donations.
Alex, one of the Project ImpACT participants said afterwards: " This session highlighted the importance of interfaith projects, and it was great to come together with people from other faiths to give back to the community. Volunteering makes me feel like what I do has meaning and seeing the impact we make makes it all worth it.”
Participants of the interfaith cooking session, held in Project ImpACT's youth kitchen, learn about the poverty crisis in the UK (Photo: Project ImpACT)[Missing Credit]
Dr. Sabir A Bham, the founder Salaam Peace said that the event embodied the charity’s vision of bringing communities together and developing socially active young leaders. “We saw these principles in its glory as Project Impact hosted the youth interfaith cooking event. We embraced it and our united team of young people from different communities themselves valued the experience."
His words were echoed by Chayli Fehler, Project ImpACT founder and director, who said afterwards: “It was truly inspiring to see teens from diverse faith backgrounds, working side by side with a shared purpose of giving back to the community. This event at our ImpACT Youth Kitchen highlighted the power of interfaith collaboration and the meaningful impact young people can have when they come together and unite for a common goal.”
Young people from different faiths take part in a cooking session at Project ImpACT's youth kitchen (Photo: Project ImpACT)[Missing Credit]
A spokesperson from the Faith and Belief Forum, which works to promote understanding, collaboration and action among people of various faiths and beliefs, said: “Seeing the energy of the young people from diverse religious, ethnic and community backgrounds come together to cook for the city's homeless has to be one of the most inspiring things I've seen in recent memory. We hope that this pilot project can grow into something bigger with even more young people involved.”
