EDINBURGH Food Social (EFS) has unveiled its new food truck, with the help of key sponsor Sodexo Prestige Venues & Events, after raising £10,000 through crowdfunding.
The vehicle was officially launched with the help of Gracemount High School, whose pupils have already benefitted from the project, which helps tackle food inequality by providing cookery education and skills to schools and communities.
Set up by city businesswoman Eleanor Cunningham, the social enterprise launched its crowdfunding campaign last year.
Sodexo Prestige Venues & Events threw its support behind the venture providing a financial donation, as well as forming a long-term partnership with the not-for-profit organisation.
The catering specialists, based in South Queensferry, operate some of the country’s most prestigious attractions and events, including The Open and Chelsea Flower Show.
Cunningham, who also runs the Edinburgh Larder cafés and catering business in the city said: “We want to encourage young people and their parents to cook more and found that many families felt they didn’t have the skills to prepare a wholesome meal from scratch using accessible, fresh ingredients.
"We want to give people the confidence to cook again and to teach them that healthy eating does not need to be expensive. A lot of hard work has gone in to reaching this point and we’re extremely grateful for the support from Sodexo.
“Following the success of our crowdfunding initiative, we’ve been able to deliver healthy eating and cooking programmes to six schools in Edinburgh, as well as taking part in the two-day ‘Power of Food’ festival which celebrates community gardens and seasonal produce.
"We can now expand the initiative and will be unveiling a series of workshops, cookery classes and school visits later this year, where the Food Truck will act as a mobile classroom and provide a purpose-built kitchen.
"We already have a partnership with Gracemount Walled Garden, which allows us to use local produce grown in the community garden on the Food Truck, as well as run cookery education classes at the site.”
Sandy Robson, account director at Sodexo Prestige Venues & Events, said: “We are passionate about local food and sharing our skills with the next generation. Edinburgh Food Social has ambitious plans to engage local schools and communities in a range of projects, which we look forward to supporting.
“Learning to cook can be the first step in developing a passion for food, this in turn can lead to a rewarding and diverse career in hospitality.
"We hope that together with EFS, we can extend beyond simply improving the quality of dishes that families cook together and encourage some of the young people to consider a career in hospitality.
"Our chefs travel the world designing menus, sourcing the best produce and working at some of the world’s top events and attractions, proving the sector offers a range of exciting opportunities.”
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