The Dorothy Parkes Centre in Walsall has announced a significant new appointment to spearhead its fight against food poverty. Sarah Cooke will become the Good Food Project Lead in January 2026, taking charge of a mission to widen access to healthy, low-cost food across the local community.
A Supportive Leader for a Growing Mission
In a statement on the centre's website, Cooke expressed her enthusiasm for the role, stating she is eager to support people in accessing nutritious and affordable food, tackle food inequalities, and help volunteers and groups use the centre's facilities. Colleagues have described her as 'supportive', a trait she intends to use to forge strong community partnerships and develop volunteer programmes.
Her welcoming advice for first-time visitors encapsulates the centre's generous ethos: "Come with a bag, you won't go home empty handed."
Building on a Foundation of Food and Community
Cooke will inherit a dynamic and established programme of food-focused initiatives. The centre already runs the popular "Together We Cook" programme, teaching people to prepare healthy meals from scratch using produce from its award-winning allotment and surplus food from partners like Incredible Surplus and Fareshare. These sessions are set to resume in 2026.
At the heart of the centre's model is the redistribution of surplus food to combat waste and poverty. Dottie's Community Fridge, funded by Hubbub and the Heart of England Community Foundation, offers free surplus food to anyone in need and was launched at a community event on January 17, 2025.
Furthermore, the Soup & Social initiative provides free, hearty soup every Wednesday and Friday from noon to 1.30pm, offering both a hot meal and warm company. This project, run with the William Wilson Turner Foundation and supported by Heart of England and IM Properties, also launched on January 17, 2025, with chef Aairon Dalton serving cauliflower and carrot soup.
Investment in Infrastructure and Future Plans
Recent infrastructure investment has been crucial to this expansion. A new community kitchen was opened on July 3, funded by a £54,500 grant from Global's Make Some Noise. This grant also supported a programme of community cooking courses running from August to March.
Sarah Cooke's role will uniquely connect these strands: hands-on cooking education, surplus-food redistribution, and regular community meals. With backing from industry-style grants and local partnerships, the Dorothy Parkes Centre aims to provide not just food, but also vital skills, social connections, and volunteer opportunities to address local food inequalities.
The centre is already a bustling hub driven by volunteers and local groups. Cooke's arrival in 2026 signals a concerted push to make it an even busier and more essential resource for people in Walsall seeking affordable, healthy food and practical cooking knowledge.
