A brand new state-of-the-art catering centre has opened in Tower Hamlets, helping over 2,000 residents enjoy healthy meals every day.

The new kitchen facility, based at the council’s Toby Lane offices in Mile End, was officially opened by Cllr Ahmed Omer, Mayor of Tower Hamlets on Wednesday 10 June. The centre brings together staff and facilities for both the council’s meals on wheels and school meals services, and is kitted out with the top catering equipment.

It means the council can continue to provide tasty and nutritious meals to some of the borough’s most vulnerable people. Quality is high on the agenda at the centre, with the meals on wheels service currently the only one in London to prepare hot meals from fresh ingredients and delivered to customers 365 days a year.

Hilda Levi, - one of Tower Hamlets’ 450 meals on wheels users was on hand to help the Mayor officially open the kitchen at the ceremony on Wednesday.

The new facility will also make sure pupils at 20 local schools who don’t have their own kitchens can still tuck into delicious and healthy lunches.

The result of five years of planning, the new catering centre has enabled the council to improve the quality of meals provided to Tower Hamlets residents. And crucially in the current financial climate, it will also offer a much more cost effective service with both the meals on wheels and school meals teams brought together.

The new facilities will even help home cooking in Tower Hamlets become an all-together healthier affair, with cooking classes for parents and children being offered to raise awareness of healthy eating options.

Cllr Abdul Asad, Lead Member for Children’s Services at Tower Hamlets Council said:

“It’s essential that we do all we can to help children in Tower Hamlets stay fit and healthy.

“The new catering centre will play an important part in this, and we are proud it will be providing our children with some of the very best school meals in the whole of London.”

Cllr Dr Anwara Ali, Lead Member for Adults Health and Wellbeing at Tower Hamlets Council, said:

“Our Meals on Wheels service is a lifeline for some of our older and vulnerable residents. This new centre will be vital in helping us to continue to provide them with the best possible care and I hope the new service goes from strength to strength!”