A weekly community kitchen in Llanelli has served more than 1,040 two-course meals in just six months, while giving local volunteers the chance to build practical cooking skills and tackle food waste.
Cegin Llanelli runs every Monday at the Antioch Centre on a free or pay-what-you-can basis. Since February, 15 volunteer cooks have contributed more than 690 hours, preparing fresh meals from seasonal produce, locally sourced ingredients, cupboard staples and rescued surplus food.
The kitchen says more than 100kg of food has been diverted from waste since June alone. A celebration lunch brought together more than 100 people and recognised the volunteers who have kept the weekly service moving.
The numbers tell a useful story: more than a thousand plates of food, hundreds of volunteer hours and ingredients turned into meals instead of bins. It is community support delivered with chopping boards rather than paperwork.