Aim

Help us raise £50,000 to build a more secure Community Kitchen — with the stability to keep saying yes when Bristol needs us.

Help us raise £50,000 to keep nourishing our community – in all the ways that matter.

At Coexist Community Kitchen, there’s a lot more than just food on the table.

There’s connection. Confidence. Skills. Opportunity. Laughter. Friendship. Culture. Community. A sense of belonging. And, in a world that can feel increasingly divided, there’s something else too: the chance to meet people whose lives may look very different from our own, to listen, learn from one another, share ideas and challenge assumptions – and, in our own small way, help build a more connected, resilient and joyful society.

We want to keep all of this on the table. And we need your help to do it.

From our non-profit cookery school in Easton, we use food to bring people together. Every year, thousands of people come through our doors: to access and cook nourishing food, learn practical skills, rebuild confidence, gain qualifications and experience, take steps towards training or work, build friendships and supportive networks, share food and culture from home, or simply spend a few hours somewhere they feel welcome.
For many people, these things can also help life feel a little more manageable financially. A free meal can ease the pressure on a stretched household budget. Learning to cook nourishing food can help money go further. Training, qualifications, volunteering and work experience can open doors to employment. And having people around you – to share knowledge, opportunities and support – can make a real difference when times are tough.

Painted proudly on our kitchen wall are words that have come to mean a lot to us:

"When you have more than you need, build a longer table, not a higher wall."

We put them there for a reason. For us, building a longer table means sharing what we have – our kitchen, our food, our skills, our connections and our opportunities – so that more people have what they need to thrive. And this year, we’re asking Bristol to help us do exactly that.

We’re trying to raise £50,000 to give our Community Kitchen the stability to keep saying yes. Yes to good food when money is tight. Yes to skills, training and opportunities to work. Yes to friendships, supportive networks and places to belong. And yes to a kitchen that can keep responding to what our community needs.

How we’ll spend the money raised

£50,000 will help keep more on the table. Supporting this campaign now will mean we can fund a range of much-needed and valued programmes across the year ahead, including:

Our weekly free meals service
Home-cooked, nourishing meals for people struggling to access enough food – easing pressure on household budgets and providing good food with dignity.

Open Access Cooking
Free community cookery programmes where people can build practical food skills, confidence and connections – including skills that can help people eat well and make household budgets go further.

Food Futures training and employment programme
Training, qualifications and hands-on experience for people facing barriers to employment, supporting them towards work in the food industry, further training or starting their own food business.

Free Community Meals
A free, inclusive meal every month where people from across our community can eat together – creating space for friendships and supportive networks to grow and helping tackle loneliness.

Supported volunteering and work experience
Practical opportunities to build confidence, workplace skills and real-world experience in a supportive working kitchen.

Keeping our Community Kitchen open and accessible
The essential costs that make all of this possible – keeping a warm, welcoming place where people can cook, eat, learn, meet and belong.

“It was the first time I felt welcomed for being myself – in a really long time.”
– Cookery class participant

Once we've raised £50,000 we'll stretch for £60,000! This additional £10k will further support the delivery of our programmes.

MORE SECURE. MORE CONNECTED. MORE OPPORTUNITIES

Financial wellbeing isn't only about what's in your bank account. It's also about having access to the things that can help you weather difficult times and move forward: good food, practical skills, confidence, supportive relationships and opportunities.

For someone struggling right now, that might mean a free nourishing meal and a little less pressure on the weekly budget. For someone else, it might mean learning new cooking skills or building confidence and connections. And for someone ready for their next step, it could mean gaining a qualification, building work experience or taking steps towards employment or starting a food business.

There isn't one route to feeling more financially secure. Our job is to keep as many of those routes open as we can.

“It felt like Bristol under one roof. Community, inclusion, food and joy.”
– Community Meal guest

WHAT ARE YOU BRINGING TO THE TABLE?

Building a longer table isn't something we can do alone. It takes all of us – and you don't need deep pockets to play a part.

1. Bring what you can

Donate £5. Donate £50. Donate more if you can. Every contribution gets us closer to our £50,000 target – and lots of people bringing a little can add up to something pretty powerful.

2. Do something

Got an idea? Run with it. Host a supper club. Put on a gig. Run a race. Have a bake sale. Take on a challenge. Donate a reward to our Crowdfunder. Get your workplace involved. Do something brilliantly weird that we haven't thought of yet. Whatever you do, bring your people with you and raise something for the table.

3. Spread the word

Tell people why you're supporting us. Share the campaign with your friends. Send it to the family WhatsApp. Stick it in the work Slack. Tell your neighbours. Talk about it over dinner. The further this travels, the longer we can make the table.

Don't underestimate what you can bring. Community isn't something that happens around us. It's something we make, together. And if we want a city with places like Coexist in it – places where people are welcomed, fed, connected and cared for – then all of us have a part to play in keeping them here.

So, whether you've been around our table for years or you've only just found us:

Come as you are. Bring what you can. Bristol, let's build a longer table!

Funding method

Keep what you raise – this project will receive all pledges made by 19th January 2027 at 12:00pm