The Outback Community Kitchen and Garden
The Outback is a unique community kitchen and garden based in the heart of the Park Ward community, directly behind Jubilee Children’s Centre. The 1 hectare site runs on organic and sustainable principles and the thriving garden is packed full of herbs, fruit and veg. There are lots of interesting areas for local people to explore and learn more about the natural environment whilst the straw bale kitchen provides a perfect space for the local community to gather and cook food.
At The Outback we offer volunteering opportunities for people of all ages and abilities, it’s a chance to get involved in this fantastic community project as well as meet other local people.
The Outback shop is up and running and sells a variety of home grown organic fruit, veg, jams and chutneys. Please feel free to call into the Outback on Tuesdays and Thursdays to see what’s available.
The Outback pop-up shop is open seasonally (April – October) on Tuesday and Thursday mornings from 11am – 1pm, selling a variety of homegrown organic fruit, veg, jams, chutneys and honey. Please feel free to call into the Outback garden to see what’s available.
We offer general adult volunteer gardening sessions every Tuesday and Thursday between 10am and 1pm. During these times, the garden is open to the public and people are welcome to come along for a walk around or to see what’s growing.
Did you know you could hire the Outback?
Our straw bale kitchen, along with our community garden, is available for local schools, nurseries, community groups and businesses to visit or hire. It makes an excellent setting for meetings, events, regular groups or even a picnic in the garden. The kitchen is fully equipped and can comfortably seat up to 24 people.
We are proud winners of the Great and Green Award 2022
“The Outback Community Kitchen & Garden is a real asset to Halifax Opportunities Trust and the Park ward community. Not only does it provide a large open space for community activities and projects, it helps to reinforce the importance of nature, being outdoors and sustainable practices.
“The Community Kitchen has delivered around 1500 free and homecooked meals this year, as part of its Tuesday Takeaway, and the Garden has welcomed over 500 people through a range of organised activities and open days. Being a finalist for the Great and Green Award is testament to the hard work that goes into making all this happen.”
Alison Haskins, HOT CEO
Programmes
We have a range of ongoing programmes at the Outback that take place throughout each week. Please see below for more information.
- Park Ward Pollinators
- Grow Well Gardening for Wellbeing sessions
- Cooking on a Budget/Plot to Plate sessions
- Community Pantry
- Adult Gardening Volunteering Sessions
Park Ward Pollinators
Park Ward Pollinators is a local community project based at The Outback Garden in Park Ward.
Our ‘pollinators’ come together to care for our community beehive, share skills and look after the habitat for our bees and other wildlife.
Takes place every Tuesday morning
Eligibility: Welcome to all, particularly those who are living in the locality of Park Ward.
Contact: Sarah Waddington 01422 342552
Grow Well Gardening for Wellbeing sessions
These gardening sessions are aimed at people who want to improve their wellbeing. Facilitated by a horticultural therapist, Grow Well provides the opportunity to be outdoors and connect with nature, learn new gardening skills, build confidence and meet new people.
For more information, please contact:
Sarah Waddington on 01422 342552 or by email [email protected]
Cooking on a Budget/Plot to plate
We offer a variety of fun and friendly cooking workshops in the Outback Community kitchen to help people learn more about using locally grown produce in cooking or how to create fresh, healthy and tasty meals on a tight budget.
For more information, please contact Sarah Waddington on 01422 342552 or by email [email protected]
Community Pantry
Our Community Pantry is open every Tuesday afternoon from 1-3pm. It stocks lots of basic store cupboard essentials alongside supermarket surplus food donations which usually include fresh vegetables, fruit and bakery items.
How to join
To sign up, please provide proof of genuine low income and bring along a small upfront annual membership payment of £1. Once you have registered, each weekly visit is £4 for 10 items.
Please come along to the Pantry for more information.
Adult Gardening Volunteering Sessions
Come along and use your skills or learn new skills in gardening in our beautiful garden in the heart of Park Ward. Make friends and immerse yourself in nature. No prior gardening experience necessary but if you do have green fingers come and join us & share your knowledge!
Tuesdays and Thursdays 10:00am – 1:00pm
Please contact us for further info or to arrange a time to come and have a look round.
Contact: Sarah Waddington [email protected] or Verity Tarbet [email protected] 01422 342552
