Duchess of Sussex donates £10,000 to only joint Jewish-Muslim kitchen in the UK

The Duchess of Sussex has donated £10,000 to the only joint Jewish-Muslim community kitchen in the UK.

Called Himmah, the community project, based in Nottingham, provides more than 650 emergency food parcels every month to people across the city, as well as serving more than 60 hot meals every week.

Reacting to the donation,  director Sajid Mohammed joked: “For ages I thought the whole thing was a hoax. They kept emailing me and ringing me about the donation saying it was from the Duchess of Sussex and I just couldn’t believe it – I was utterly gobsmacked and hugely humbled that Meghan knew about our charity and wanted to support us. It’s an absolutely incredible sum and we’re so very grateful.”

The charity said the money from Meghan’s foundation has been put towards stocking the food bank, purchasing equipment and providing vital funds for its Salaam Shalom Kitchen joint Muslim-Jewish community kitchen.

Karen Worth, co-chair and trustee Salaam Shalom Kitchen, said: “We are so delighted and pleased that Salaam Shalom Kitchen has been noticed and chosen by the Duchess of Sussex.

“The money given to us by her foundation will help to continue our important work in Hyson Green area of Nottingham, which is one the most deprived areas of the city.”

The donation came from funds raised for The Royal Foundation from the sale of Together: Our Community Cookbook and the duchess gifted the money so the charity can “continue transforming lives through the power of cooking and food”.

Worth continued: “Post initial Covid lockdown period we have managed to re-open since start of August.

“Even though our usual venue The Bridge centre remains closed, we are committed to continuing to assist those experiencing food poverty, for whatever reason.

“Every Wednesday, we are outside The Bridge centre, whatever the weather, giving out a hot meal, supermarket donations and a friendly hello to anyone who needs this.

“Initially we were giving out 60 meals each week, this has now increased to 90+ each week.”

Reflecting on the past year for the charity, Mr Mohammed said: “This year has been incredibly tough for a lot of people, we’ve seen a huge increase in uptake for our services since the start of the pandemic.”