An initiative in York that provides food, a warm space and good company to the most vulnerable in the city hopes to expand.
Established in September 2023 by Faizal Mohamudbuccus and Mebs Surve, the York Mosque Community Kitchen has served more than 2,200 meals during its 16 months.
The event is run every other Thursday at the York Mosque & Islamic Centre, and is hosted by a group of eight volunteers.
Large batches of food are prepared for each session, and hot drinks and snacks are also on offer.
The Community Kitchen often sees more than 100 people come along to eat, meet other members of the community, or just to have some time out of the house.
Faizal hopes to spread the word that everyone is welcome, especially those who are feeling lonely, vulnerable, or facing difficulties like the cost of living.
Typically, the in-house chefs prepare the food on the morning of the session, but local restaurants have also provided meals in the past as a ‘guest kitchen’ service.
“We’ve had various Indian restaurants, we’ve had Millers Fish and Chips, we’ve had Backstreet Burgers and other other restaurants that have chipped in over the last 12 months,” Faizal told YorkMix.
The most recent meeting on 30 January was a great success story for the group, demonstrating what the Community Kitchen is all about.
Faizal told YorkMix, “We’ve got two ladies that actually live in Stay City who have been coming here, and because they’ve experienced the community cohesion, the environment, the atmosphere, wonderful food, they felt they wanted to give something back.”
Hira and Nimra took it upon themselves to cook chicken pilau, vegetarian pilau, homemade raita and salad for the group.
“They came to York as refugees and they’ve benefited from some of the work that we’ve been doing and how we welcome people here,” Faizal added.
The menu is different each time depending on what people feel comfortable cooking, but will always cater to dietary requirements.
Taking it across the UK
The kitchen was initially funded by a grant from The Joseph Rowntree Trust, but Faizal hopes to become a stand-alone registered charity.
“We’re under the Mosque, which is already a registered charity, but we’re trying to become an independent registered charity.
“This would open up more avenues in terms of getting grants to do more things, we could even go mobile and take it across the UK,” Faizal said.
The York Mosque & Islamic Centre is the first Mosque in the United Kingdom that has consistently run this service, and Faizal envisions it expanding. “I want to roll this out to other mosques around the country, but not just to provide food.”
He’s in regular contact with North Yorkshire Police and City of York Council to provide people with what he calls “a community hub”.
“We usually have a representative from the council or a representative from the police here for advice.
“Whether it’s policing matters or housing matters, they’re here and it acts as a community hub for people to come as well,” he added.
Providing a space that people can rely on has always been the main aim behind the initiative, and the reason Faizal and Mebs started the community kitchen in the first place.
However, they didn’t envision it to be as popular as it turned out to be.
“Our first event saw five people, and in the back of my mind I was just thinking how far could this go?” Faizal said.
For their one year anniversary in September 2024, they hosted an awards ceremony to thank the volunteers and guest kitchens, and to recognise how far they’d come.
“We never thought we’d get this far, we thought we’d do OK, but not on a cost consistent basis. It’s every two weeks and we get up to 100 people all the time, that’s that sense of achievement in itself,” he added.
Highs and lows
Faizal’s father and uncle were founding members of the Mosque in 1982, and he’s been coming since he was three years old.
He’s seen a fair share of highs and lows over time, including the building being petrol bombed twice during the 1990s.
One incident that stuck out for Faizal took place in 2013, when a march by far-right, Islamophobic organisation the English Defence League was organised in York.
The Muslim community were warned by police of the march, and members of the Mosque decided to try and diffuse the violent situation.
“What we did was set out tables for tea and biscuits, and invited people from the march to join us,” Faizal said.
One of the EDL march organisers actually decided to join them, and together they discussed their differences over a cup of tea and biscuits.
“It was something that we’re really proud of, because we turned a situation that could potentially have gone volatile into a peaceful one,” he added.
During the far-right riots that took place across Britain last summer, the Mosque offered the building as a place of refuge in York.
Rumours on social media circulated around the city that a riot was to take place outside the StayCity hotel, on Paragon Street.
Faizal didn’t believe this to be true, but he made his way down to the hotel to be sure.
What he was met with reminded him why he, in his words, was so honoured to live in a place like York.
“There was nothing outside StayCity, so I headed to the Mosque. There was about 100 people here, Muslims and non Muslims, who came to show solidarity.
“People came with signs and banners, whenever there’s any threats there’s always people that come down to support the Mosque, which is fantastic,” Fazial shared.
He believes it’s the community spirit that sets makes the Mosque in York so special.
He said, “if you go to the bigger cities you’ll have a lot of different mosques for different cultures, but in York everybody is welcomed into the same one and we all embrace one another’s culture.”
You can keep up to date with the community kitchen, as well as various other events that take place at the York Mosque on their Facebook page.
If you’d like to get involved and lend a hand, the group is always happy to take on volunteers.