Free To Feed To Close in Fitzroy North

Free To Feed – the social enterprise that supports people from refugee and asylum-seeking backgrounds through food experiences and training – opened its event space in Fitzroy North in 2021. The site has hosted weddings, cooking classes, fundraisers and other events. But at the end of the month, the organisation will close the space and wind down its catering and events business.

“It has been tough for a while,” says CEO Candace Lazarus, who took over from Free To Feed co-founder Loretta Bolotin in March. She says a combination of a decline in demand for catering and the rising cost of everything including rent, utilities, insurance and ingredients, were the main drivers behind the decision to close. “It’s emotional, you’re giving up a big part of the business, but it’s also people and memories attached to that, which is what makes it really hard.”

Lazarus says the organisation has let go of some staff, but adds that no staff from a refugee or asylum-seeking background will be impacted by the closure beyond a reduction in hours. Job consultants specialising in supporting people with such backgrounds have been brought in to help team members find other work.

Since founding in 2015, the non-profit has offered training and professional development, and facilitated cooking experiences where participants from all backgrounds are invited to break bread with Free To Feed teachers from Ukraine, Palestine, Iraq, Indonesia and several other countries. The organisation will continue to run cooking experiences and training programs from its Northcote site. “The idea is 100 per cent to grow our social impact programs and our cooking experiences,” Lazarus says.

For now, people can continue to support the organisation by attending a cooking experience or by making a donation.