Chicken Town: Tottenham

In Tottenham's local area almost one in four reception age children is overweight or obese. By the time they get to year six that figure rises to more than one in three. Around Tottenham's centre there are 34 fast food outlets offering cheap food, high in calories, easily accessible and affordable to young people. This is a big problem for the local community.

To stop this, we have to change what people think about fast food. Chicken Town in Tottenham, a not-for-profit enterprise, is doing this.

In Spring 2015 the project reached its capaign funding target. It secured initial funding from Haringey Council and our Mayor of London High Street Fund, as well as additional funding from Time Out London and Bloomberg Philanthropies, to pay for the specialist equipment needed to produce healthy fast food, such as state of the art fryers with filtration.

The project used Spacehive and Kickstarter to raise awareness of their aims to stop rising obesity levels in the area, and to raise more money through crowdfunding. Chicken Town opened in November 2015.

Healthier food and more choice

Chicken Town aims to get young people to think about how the food they eat is made, where it comes from and what effect it will have on their health. By encouraging young people to take control of what they eat, they are likely to have a more positive relationship with good food.

In 2012 Chicken Town partnered with We Are What We Do to set up a Box Chicken food trailer in Newham. They sold 1,362 meals in a month, each with 90% less saturated fat, 80% less salt and half the calories of a standard chicken takeaway. This was supported by Public Health England and the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation.

By serving healthy and affordable food, Chicken Town is creating a network of local people who care about good food for the community. School and community organisations can use this network to help teach kids about healthier, tasty food options.

Jobs and training for the community

In the first three years, the restaurant is expected to create over 40 new jobs for the area. Local young people have been recruited and trained to work in the restaurant. They’re provided with good working conditions, mentoring, career pathways and the opportunity to gain NVQ level qualifications through work placements with partnering restaurants and chefs across the city.

A better local environment

Chicken Town is located in a former fire station on Tottenham Green, the interior of which has been redesigned by Turner Prize winning architecture and art practice Assemble. The design of the restaurant worked to enhance the exterior appearance of the Grade II listed building.