A FUNDRAISING soup stall championing food skills and fresh Welsh produce came to the rescue of chilled stallholders and hungry emergency service workers at the Crickhowell Christmas Market on Thursday, (December, 5).

Gusting winds and driving rain had left everyone feeling cold and damp, so as the market came to a close, the soup stall volunteers took to the High Street, handing out steaming cups of free soup, hunks of bread and hot mulled apple juice to warm frozen fingers and keep people going as they packed up the market.

Organised by Bwyd Powys Food and Our Food 1200, the soup stall was run as a “pay as you feel” fundraiser for Cegin y Bobl, a new Welsh not-for-profit organisation set up to give children and adults the skills and confidence they need to cook tasty nutritious food on a budget.

Cegin y Bobl aims to transform Wales’ relationship with food from the ground up; teaching people how to cook from scratch, learn how food connects us to our community and environment, and become the new food leaders of tomorrow

Chilly market-goers enjoyed a chunky Welsh veg cawl and a spicy butternut squash soup, both made with fresh Welsh produce supplied by Crickhowell’s Langtons Farm, and served with fresh sourdough donated by Abergavenny’s Angel Bakery.

“The weather was not our friend on the night,” said Chloe Masefield, South Powys Food Partnership Coordinator for Bwyd Powys Food. “But that probably worked in our favour, as the hardy folk who braved the elements loved our hearty soups and warming mulled juice and were very generous in their support for Cegin y Bobl.

“So when it came to the end of the evening, and we still had plenty of soup left, it seemed only right to spread that goodwill just a little bit further.

“We’re still totting up the final amount raised for Cegin y Bobl, but we took over £300 on the night.”

Our Food 1200 director Dianne Spencer said there was another positive outcome from the stall: “We delivered the remaining few litres of soup to the Abergavenny Community Centre the following day, in time for their regular Friday soup lunch.

“The Community Centre team does amazing work, offering cooked-from-scratch community lunches and other activities that bring people together to help combat loneliness and food insecurity. Knowing we’ve helped them as well has certainly given us a very warm glow!”

“This is the first time we’ve done anything like this,” continued Chloe. “The amount of support we’ve had from the local community, businesses and other organisations has been overwhelming. We set out wanting to raise money to help more people connect with food and learn how to cook, but really this event has shown us that when people come together we can achieve amazing things.”

If you would like to donate to Cegin y Bobl, you can do so through their Just Giving page: https://www.justgiving.com/campaign/ceginybobl

So far, generous donators have raised over £29k for the organisation.