Charity Based in Clem Attlee Estate Proves its Worth
Smile Brigade was providing meals to over 1,000 people during lockdown
Amanda Simpson at the Clem Attlee estate hall
“We were just thrust into it – having so many clients. We went from working two hours a week to 80 hours.”
Taken out of context, you might think those were the words of an entrepreneur who has struck gold with a unique idea that had quickly made them a fortune.
Although her idea was a brilliant one, these were actually the reflections of Monique Newton, 28, on how her little charity, the Smile Brigade, had roared into action at the start of the pandemic.
Monique Newton at the Clem Attlee estate hall. Picture: Reach Plc/Tim Clarke
This time last year, Ms Newton and a troupe of volunteers, many of them furloughed and looking for ways to help in a crisis, were making hot meals for hundreds of residents sheltering in their homes.
By their peak in June 2020, The Smile Brigade had been making and delivering free dinners to 1,100 people dotted around Fulham, Hammersmith and Chelsea, up from 70 just before the spring.
Their months of toil took place inside a little hall on the 1960s-built Clement Attlee estate in SW6, with 19 high and low-rise blocks. Whilst not the most loved and looked-after address in West London, it goes to show what an invaluable resource an easily-taken-for-granted hall can be.
Explaining how the community pulled together, Ms Newton, a former mental health care assistant, said, “There’s six staff and we’ve had 475 volunteers in total who all helped.
“We were originally doing a community kitchen where people could come for advice and to socialise and have a free meal, and we never asked for proof of address or income.
“When the pandemic hit, the people who needed help became residents who were shielding and needed deliveries.
“We had no idea how much it would grow. In the first week of lockdown we had 200 new referrals from the council. Suddenly we were working 80 hours a week.”
To cook all that grub, day after day, they enlisted furloughed chefs from the nearby Rylston pub and the Captain Cook in Dawes Road. Huge quantities of chilli con carne, sausage and mash or pasta with pesto and tomato sauce were taken from the pubs and into the Clem Attlee hall, with its own little kitchen, for reheating and dishing out into packages.
Tonnes of ingredients were sourced from supermarkets, larger charities, businesses, or bought in thanks to Ms Newton’s constant fundraising – “consistently about £20-30,000 a month”.
“A we had such a great response from the community. We were getting surplus food from Tesco, Asda and Gail’s – three deliveries a week,” Ms Newton said.
“It was like Ready Steady Cook, we didn’t know what we were getting each time. We also get donations from the Felix Project and City Harvest,”
After the cooking, another team of The Smile Brigade’s volunteers with cars and vans were scheduled with lists of addresses to deliver to.
Riyadh Chowdhury, a furloughed chef from the Rylston pub, said, “We’re doing 300 meals a day freshly cooked, and pre-made meals to go in the freezers.
“And every meal is tailored for people who have allergies or might need gluten free.
“We prepared Christmas dinners for so many people with touches like Yorkshire puddings. There were five consecutive days of deliveries and we worked even on Christmas.”
The 34-year-old continued, “It’s lovely to help so many people and we just did as much as we could.
“During the first lockdown we really didn’t know we would need to keep going for all this time, but we have.”
Riyadh Chowdhury is a furloughed chef who has been cooking thousands of meals for people in Fulham
In 2019 the Clem Attlee was labelled in research by the Minister of Housing Communities and Local Government as being in the top 10 per cent of most deprived areas in England.
A well-known face on the estate, Amanda Simpson, was keen to highlight how the efforts of so many local volunteers contradicted the stereotypes attributed to Clem Attlee, and estates like it.
“People like living on the estate,” said Ms Simpson, a 61-year-old former teacher who previously chaired the estate’s residents association.
“There’s a demonisation that doesn’t reflect the reality. If you live in a block like these, you do know your neighbours. Whereas people don’t necessarily if they live in a street. It’s a lot more transient in most places but on this estate people don’t leave. It’s more settled, like a little village.”
She added, “‘high deprivation’ is a very unhelpful label. Ninety per cent of us don’t earn enough to live elsewhere in Fulham. People are in work, but they are teachers and nurses or working two jobs. This is a pot of people here are doing really skilled, core jobs.”
Amanda Simpson at the Clem Attlee Estate
As the lockdowns are lifted, Ms Simpson predicts the number of people needing the Smile Brigade’s help will “tail down”.
“It will become more of a food bank. We have got to transition and we need to work that out.”
Owen Sheppard - Local Democracy Reporter
April 19, 2021