Life Changing Dining (and you don’t even have to cook it!)

Fat Macy’s started off in Crouch End as a supper club with a twist. Good food prepared and served by young people living in temporary accommodation, as a way for them to gain skills and, eventually, get a permanent place to live. Food and housing rolled into one delicious meal or a hand up rather than a hand out. 

It’s the ‘teach a person to fish’ saying in reality, and it’s how we’re celebrating International Women’s Day by hearing from Fat Macy’s founder Meg Doherty and her revelation at the YMCA in Crouch End. You then have the option to ‘dine in’ and appreciate their delicious food while supporting the inspiring work they are doing.  It's a way to celebrate Shabbat and help others at the same time. 

“One dreary October afternoon, having spent a few weeks vainly attempting to understand the chaotic life of a homeless hostel, I stumbled across a Caribbean cooking session on the fourth floor. Weeks of residents’ grumbles about the hostel, housing benefit sanctions and evictions evaporated as the smell of grilling jerk chicken floated out of the kitchen and reggae boomed down the halls. Young men I’d seen spending hours sitting bored outside the hostel were working together, cooking up a storm, laughing. Piles of jerk chicken, rice and festival dumplings were passed around and swiftly wolfed down”.

From that experience a social enterprise was slowly born, and which is going from strength to strength, even during these difficult times.

Fat Macy's work aligns with our values and work on food, poverty and justice and crucially its aim is long term.  We are continuing our support for the Hornsey Food Bank but it is important to ‘teach fishing’ as well as sharing the daily haul.  “Fat Macy’s works with young Londoners living in temporary accommodation to provide a tangible pathway out of homelessness. Food is our vehicle – from supper clubs to catering and everything in between”.

In Jewish tradition direct action (food for food banks, donations etc) and long term investment in a person (teaching skills) are both important to help people out of poverty. Seven out of Maimonides' eight steps deals with direct donations, and yet the highest form, and ultimately the one with the most impact, is teaching a person a trade or helping them set up a business. We’re lucky to be able to do both. This is food that does good and we only have to do the dishes.

Shabbat shalom

If you want to learn more about this social enterprise do look at these videos:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p06sn3w2

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ncT40qnwVEU