Treat Kitchen is proud to be a Nottingham-based brand, with our three founders—Martin, Jess, and Tom—all having grown up in and around the city. Nottingham, in case you don’t know, is in the middle of the UK and is famous for Robin Hood, Torvill & Dean, and of course Charity Shop Sue!
With such strong ties to the city, Treat Kitchen aims to have a positive impact on
our local community, supporting the most vulnerable people in our city and protecting and promoting the natural environment.
“When you connect with a local charity or cause you can spend time with the people involved and understand their areas of need–and it isn’t always money. Sometimes its expertise, encouragement or advice. You can really see the impact of your support and feel you are making a difference in your city.”
- Treat Kitchen CEO Martin Barnett on why we choose to work with local charities
Base 51 supports young people in Nottingham aged 11-25 with counselling, health, and housing advice and provide a safe space to spend time via their youth groups. They also have a dedicated project called Outburst that supports the young LGBTQIA+ community, providing important resources and a safe space in the city.
Treat Kitchen has supported Base 51 in a number of ways, from fundraising through marathons and a charity Three peaks challenge, to providing governance support on their board of trustees.
Deepika, Leah, Jess, Ian, and Scott were delighted to attend the Base 51 Power in Partnership Awards on Friday 21st of March. It was a fantastic event marking the culmination of Base 51 week, highlighting the incredible work done across the city to support young people.
It was a massive surprise and delight for Treat Kitchen to receive the Power In Partnership award at the end of the evening.
A massive congratulations to Verity for organising a rebrand launch, an art exhibition, games night, open day, and awards ceremony – all in just one week!
Surely, it is no coincidence that, council funding is being cut across youth services, and incidents of violent crime in our city - where young people are both the victims and perpetrators - are on the rise. It is more important than ever that the community comes together to support our young people at this time of crisis.
Jess first discovered Double Impact through their social enterprise venue Café Sobar. She used to take her little son there in the pram When she and the team were first starting Treat Kitchen.
Very soon, she began learning more about Double Impact, a charity supporting those in recovery from all forms of addiction. Double Impact offer a holistic range of services aimed at promoting sustained recovery and community integration. These services include personalised support plans, education and vocational training opportunities, assistance with housing and financial issues, and the creation of supportive peer networks.
Treat Kitchen have worked with Double Impact for many years now, welcoming service users into our company to carry out work placements, some of who went on to become permanent team members. We have supported them with fundraising initiatives as well as sharing advice and expertise. More recently, Jess has become a trustee and now works to support the senior management team and promote the charity to other businesses in Nottingham.
Jess met with Café Sobar’s new Project and Development Manager, Char Ogley. She has a fantastic background, particularly in supporting vulnerable women, and aims to build on Double Impact’s connections with other community groups by hosting events and running groups at Café Sobar.
Double Impact is now offering support for those in recovery from gambling addiction. Drawing on their experience with peer-led initiatives, Double Impact’s Time Out Gambling recovery service provides 1-1 holistic support.
Established in 1979, Stonebridge City Farm is a cherished urban farm located just two streets away from us in Nottingham This community-driven charity offers a range of attractions, including a variety of farm animals, sustainable gardens, a café, a shop, and a children's play area.
Treat Kitchen Founders, Jess and Martin, adopted two rabbits from the farm, Bungy and Buttons (you might spot them popping up on our socials from time to time!).
Open daily with free entry, the farm relies on donations to support its mission of providing educational and therapeutic experiences. It serves as a vital green space in the city, promoting interaction between visitors and beneficiaries through engaging activities and volunteer opportunities.
Treat Kitchen often supports Stonebridge with product donations, but our favourite initiative has been our gingerbread workshops that we run for their hardworking volunteers!
"The gingerbread decorating workshop with theStonebridge City Farm volunteers was so much fun, they are such a brilliant group of people, and it was lovely to see everyone getting so creative with our gingerbread kits!"
- Our Graphic Designer, Izzy, on our gingerbread workshops with
Stonebridge City Farm
Over the past year we have started working with The Kings Trust here in Nottingham. The Explore Programme is a fantastic four-week initiative that helps young people develop new skills, build confidence, and connect with others. We run workshops for young people to learn about the types of careers we have at Treat Kitchen and share our story of how we started the business. The participants then get to work on a project designing a new message bottle - choosing the fill, design, and slogan. We’ve had some fantastic results so far and we’re looking forward to our next workshop on April the 1st!
We got involved in supporting the Canal & River Trust to help with their social prescribing sessions. Designed to bring people together to connect with nature, these group sessions can involve anything from urban gardening through to paddle boarding on the canal.
Treat Kitchen were proud to sponsor one of these initiatives by providing plants and tools for the urban garden, which was created to be a larder garden. We supplied fruit trees and wild garlic plants, and also signed up for their summer watering programme. Thank you to Penney Poyzer for introducing us to this fantastic scheme!
