Food as a Bridge: How Community Food Initiatives are Building Belonging in the UK

Food is a powerful tool for bringing communities together. Migrant-led supper clubs and community kitchens are reshaping high streets and village halls across the UK. These initiatives create belonging and aim to support and celebrate migrants on their journey to feeling at home. From Glasgow’s Soul Food Sisters, to London’s Migrateful Cooking Classes, these food projects are united by a mission to harness food’s power to connect communities and challenge division.

Across the UK, community food initiatives are transforming everyday spaces, into places for solidarity and opportunities for cultural exchange. Soul Food Sisters in Glasgow, for example, began as a small group of migrant women cooking together and has grown into a thriving social enterprise that holds ethics, democracy and inclusion at the heart of its identity. Made up of eight women from five continents, the group works to empower migrant women in the local community by supporting business ideas, encouraging abilities and building confidence.

In London, Migrateful runs cooking classes led by refugee and asylum-seeking home chefs, giving participants the chance to learn new recipes while hearing the personal stories behind them. Many asylum seekers in the UK wait for months before getting a decision on their claim, as of June 2025, about 27% had been waiting over a year for an initial decision. Because the law prevents asylum seekers from working during this waiting period (unless a decision has been pending for 12 months or more and then only under restricted job-lists), projects like Migrateful become even more crucial — offering some sense of agency, skill building, and community while claims remain unresolved.

Isolation is one of the hardest challenges faced by people seeking asylum once entering the UK. Cut off from work, education and often their wider families, many struggle to find a sense of purpose or belonging in their new communities. This is where food initiatives can help.   

Since 2014, The Open Kitchen Social Club, has been offering weekly community social eating events in Sheffield, where asylum seekers, refugees and local residents cook and eat side by side. In Lewisham, Non-profit organisation Refugee Café offers delicious food from around the world whilst working to relieve poverty and isolation amongst those granted refugee status in Lewisham area. Refugee Café’s commitment is to reach the most vulnerable people in their community and open a pathway to employment, offering workshops, training skills and knowledge relevant for catering industry. For those who might otherwise remain on the margins, these moments of welcome can make the difference between loneliness and belonging.

Migrant oriented food-based initiatives have been growing across the UK. They may look different from place to place, but they all share a common mission of using food as a means of cross-cultural communication and connection.

If you’d like to support these projects, attend a local supper club, volunteer at a community kitchen, or help amplify their work in your networks. A shared meal may seem small, but for many, it is the first step towards feeling at home.