Enfield food charity launches appeal to replace stolen van

Cooking Champions needs to raise £6,000 to “bridge the gap” between its insurance and the cost of a replacement vehicle, reports James Cracknell

The Cooking Champions van before it was stolen — The Cooking Champions van pictured before it was stolen

An Enfield foodbank is appealing for donations to help replace a van that was stolen this week.

The vehicle belongs to Cooking Champions, which supports vulnerable people in the borough with freshly-cooked meals from its base in Ponders End, but was stolen from outside the home of founder Clare Donovan on Tuesday (13^th) during daylight hours.

An online appeal aims to raise £6,000 to “bridge the gap” between the charity’s insurance and the cost of a replacement van, as well as a temporary vehicle to rent and to replace lost cooking equipment.

Clare told the Dispatch: “We only launched the crowdfunder yesterday and the response has been amazing.

“Thank you to everyone who has messaged, it is really heart-warming during a really stressful time to have so many people reach out.”

The vehicle was last seen by Clare in John Gooch Drive, in the Gordon Hill area of Enfield, at around 7.45am on Tuesday. She discovered it was missing at 4pm.

As well as the van, there was catering equipment and was stolen – which may have been dumped by the thieves afterwards.

Clare said that the van is clearly marked with ‘Cooking Champions’ and that it would have been obvious to the thieves that it was owned by the charity.

A Metropolitan Police spokesperson said: “We are appealing to local residents, businesses, motorists, and anyone who may have been in the area during this time to check any CCTV, doorbell cameras, or dashcam footage for anything suspicious.

“If you saw anything unusual, or have information that could assist our investigation, please contact police on 101, quoting crime reference 01/8181250/26. If a crime is in progress or there is an immediate risk, call 999.”

Clare added: “Not having the van severely limits what we can do. There was a report the cooking equipment was dumped – large catering pots and pans which we use to cook our lunches.”

Cooking Champions was founded by Clare in 2020, during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, and has helped thousands of people since then. Last year alone, the charity welcomed more than 600 visitors, provided 12,744 food parcels, and cooked 7,128 meals.

Donate to the fundraising appeal for Cooking Champions:
Visit peoplesfundraising.com/fundraising/help-cooking-champions-replace-stolen-van

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