Treat Kitchen Joins Forces with Base 51 in the Face of Funding Cuts to Young People’s Services

Nottingham based food gifting retailer Treat Kitchen and local charity partner Base 51 join forces to rally support and donations from the general public and other local businesses and universities. This follows Nottingham City Council’s announcement that they’ll be reducing youth provisions across the city, as they make cuts to the tune of £28m to balance their budget; resulting in the closure of five local children’s centres.

Base 51 is a charity providing support for young people aged between 11 and 25 through counselling, group work and one-to-one support in Nottingham and the surrounding areas. The charity initially came to form in response to the lack of sexual health provision for young people, and the recognition that young people’s wellbeing is about more than just addressing their physical health needs. They lend a hand to building life skills, healthy relationships and resilience to prepare them for the transition to adulthood. 

The last three years has seen a cosy collaboration between community-minded confectioners Treat Kitchen and Base 51. Treat Kitchen are highly involved in supporting the charity’s work providing free counselling, early intervention, and LGBTQ support groups for some of the most disadvantaged and vulnerable young people in the East Midlands and feel that the recently announced cuts will hinder the local community.

Martin Barnett, Treat Kitchen CEO and Vice Partner of Base 51, says: “I have spent time with the staff and service users at Base 51 and have seen first-hand just how much of a profound impact they have had on the lives of young people over the years. The council’s decision to cut funding for such a needed service could be detrimental to the future youth of Nottingham”. He continues: “It’s so important to us that the incredible services Base 51 have been providing to young people for almost thirty years now are recognised. Donations are fundamental to ensuring that they can continue to support those in need of it most”.

In a bid to keep Base 51 afloat and stir up as much support and donations as possible from those who are able to help, Treat Kitchen have launched their campaign, with the main event, Base 51 Week, taking place between Monday 21 - Friday 27 March. Base 51 Week will see the group and Treat Kitchen gathering the support of the general public, local business and universities, and even holds the potential for a few celebrity collaborations. This will all be documented on Treat Kitchen and Base 51’s websites and social media platforms, where you can discover updates and more information about what’s going on.

After over a decade of austerity and cuts from the UK Government, many local authorities like Nottingham City Council have seen hefty cuts to their budgets, and as a result have had to make tough decisions about the services they're able to fund. City Council Leader David Mellen pointed out that they've had to manage a £145m cut in core funding from central government. The cuts were voted through by the Labour-controlled council following public consultation, with Nottingham South MP Lilian Greenwood taking to Facebook to say that at the March 7 budget meeting "for the first time in literally decades, neither of the opposition parties submitted a single amendment or alternative budget proposal”. 

Visit the Base 51 website to donate to the charity, or to access their services