Celebrity chef Aldo Zilli has been cooking and delivering meals to homeless young people living at Centrepoint’s hostels in Wandsworth this month.
Zilli has been working with the UK’s leading youth homelessness charity, Centrepoint, since 2012, and has a personal link to homelessness, after he lived on the streets for a month and a half during his teenage years.
For the homeless young people living at Centrepoint’s hostels in Wandsworth, these food deliveries couldn’t have come at a better time. Food insecurity is already a widespread problem amongst vulnerable young people, especially after the festive period.
Aldo Zilli said:
“It’s such a privilege to cook for these young people and know that we’re able to provide them with a nutritious meal with good quality ingredients at a time when they otherwise might not get a chance to eat like this. Having been homeless myself I know how important each meal is when you’re struggling to put food on the table so I hope these dinners take away some stress and spread a little enjoyment too.”
Isabel Rice, Senior Dietitian at Centrepoint, said:
“We couldn’t be happier with Aldo’s kind offer to supply freshly cooked meals to homeless young people in Wandsworth. We’re seeing young people self-isolating or socially distancing, as well as increasing hardship support requests as people are losing their jobs and struggling to afford food. These freshly cooked, healthy and tasty meals are something young people may not otherwise have access to will provide well-needed nutrition as well as hopefully put a smile on their faces.”
Centrepoint runs hostels across the country supporting homeless young people into a job and a home. Over 120,000 young people faced homelessness last year. The charity is warning that this number is likely to be even higher in the pandemic, with the latest rough sleeping figures showing as many as one in ten of the capitals rough sleepers are now under 25.
