Youth workers at the Springfield Centre in Bradford are now able to provide up to 50 meals to local children, more than doubling their previous capacity, following a generous donation of a brand new purpose-built kitchen.
The Airedale Group, also based in Bradford, is a leading provider of design, build and maintenance solutions to the catering sector. The company designed and built the kitchen for the centre to replace a smaller domestic style kitchen that needed upgrading.
The Springfield Youth Centre is a local not-for-profit organisation in Bradford, that encourages youngsters to “Explore, Dream, Believe and Achieve” and operates programmes promoting, among other things: physical, educational, and emotional literacy.
An increasing number of local children and families using the centre has brought with it increased demand for food; to eat, to prepare and to learn about. The previous kitchen facilities could no longer cope with this demand. There are hopes that the new facilities will also provide a valuable insight into catering, with the potential to offer training to young people interested in working in hospitality in the future.
The brand-new kitchen, which was officially opened by Ilkley-based Chef Matt Broadley this week, features state-of-the-art equipment and has been designed with the needs of the Youth Centre in mind. The Airedale Group’s team of expert designers and installers worked closely with the organisation to ensure that the kitchen met their specific requirements. As a result, it is expected that the new kitchen will more than double the number of children that can receive a hot meal.
Local councillor and Chair of Trustees, Jeanette Sunderland, who has been working with the centre for several years, comments: “We are incredibly grateful to Airedale Group for their support and this donation will change so many children’s lives for the better. We have lots of young people who want to be in the kitchen, to cook, learn and be involved. Almost every child can tell you where to buy the best deep fried chicken or burger, but sadly, many are not able to recognise a joint of beef or know what to do with raw chicken. So we’re excited to help change that.
“We can now realise our ambitions in running a young people’s bistro from the centre. The new kitchen will not only enable us to provide better meals for the children, but there is the potential to provide valuable training opportunities, helping our young people develop important skills for the future.”
Rob Bywell, CEO of Airedale Group, adds: “We hope providing more children with access to good meals will make a real difference. It’s important for us to support this vital work in our local community, especially during a difficult time for a lot of families.
“Our team has worked especially hard to turn this project around in time for Christmas. As well as our own designers and engineers, we were delighted by the level of support we received from partners in our supply chain, who really stepped up when the opportunity to help arose.”
Catering equipment was offered by manufacturers Lincat, Atosa, Fagor, Mechline and Panasonic to provide the centre with everything necessary to fit out a modern kitchen.
The Airedale Group is committed to supporting local organisations and initiatives that make a positive impact on the communities in which they operate. Alongwith inspiring the next generation of catering professionals.
