Talbot Village Trust, a local grant giving charity that supports worthy causes across south east Dorset, has donated £14,400 to Bournemouth charity Grounded Community to help continue its work supporting and educating local people in food-growing.

The educational charity has used the grant to create an Outdoor Kitchen Learning Space at The Secret Garden in the grounds of St Clements Church in Boscombe. The match funded donation was put towards purchasing materials for the timber-framed structure with skylight roof panels, kitchen units, a hob, pizza oven and a barbecue, with the remainder invested in garden maintenance and water irrigation.

The Outdoor Kitchen Learning Space provides shelter from the rain for the volunteers, local women's group Safe and Sound and nature play parents, while also giving them a space to make and enjoy refreshments. The students from neighbouring schools will also be making use of the charity’s new educational garden resource.

Michael French, Projects Coordinator at Grounded Community, said: “We are very grateful to the Trust for investing in our community and supporting our work. Grants like the one provided by the Talbot Village Trust enable us to focus on our spaces and make them more user-friendly and accommodating.

“We have already hosted three community meals in the new space and plan to hold more monthly events throughout the year. At one of these events alone, we had 75 people and cooked 49 pizzas in our new pizza oven.”

Nicholas Ashley-Cooper, Chairman of Talbot Village Trust, added: “With the cost-of-living climbing, there has never been a more pressing time to support organisations that help the community to grow and share food locally and increase levels of self-sufficiency. We are delighted to be able to support the work by Grounded Community to empower our local community and supplement food supplies.”

Granted charity status in 2020, Grounded Community currently has around 140 volunteers and nine part-time staff members to run food-growing workshops, set people up in their homes and train volunteers. In addition, Grounded Community runs a surplus food box scheme to aid low-income households with supermarket surplus and garden produce. Visit www.groundedcommunity.co.uk to donate or provide a monthly donation support.

To apply for funding from the Talbot Village trust, visit www.talbotvillagetrust.org to submit an online application. The Trust meets biannually and is accepting applications for funding from both previous and new applicants in the area before the trustees meet in autumn 2022 and spring 2023.