A community centre which offers free food to families struggling with the cost of living crisis has blamed ‘social cleansing’ after being ‘evicted’ from three sites in seven years.

Parents fighting to put food on the table use volunteer-run Homegrown in Tottenham, north London for its free food hub, Saturday school and advocacy service.

The project has become a safe haven and ‘second family’ for people on low incomes, those from ethnic minority backgrounds and refugees.

But there are fears more than 40 children and 20 adults will suffer now Homegrown has been left homeless.

Rose Dakuo, 49, and Emma Djilali, 29, who run the space, claim Notting Hill Genesis (NHG) originally said they could have their site on Ashley Road until at least 2023.

But in July 2022, the organisation was ordered to leave ‘early’ and make way for 353 new flats.

Housing association Notting Hill Genesis has insisted 50% of the homes will be affordable and that Homegrown was ‘aware of the short-term nature of their tenancy’.

But Homegrown staged a 24-day occupation of the site after allegedly being kicked out early and only offered a shipping container as an alternative site.

They were finally forced to leave last week after a judge at Edmonton County Court ruled in favour of a possession order.

It comes amid warnings a winter catastrophe is coming unless extra support is provided, with many families set to face the ‘devastating’ choice between food and heating.

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Grandmother June Tuitt, 57, who uses Homegrown and also volunteers there, says she is ‘below the breadline’ and terrified of the energy bill hikes.

‘I was on the brink of tears when I found out about the eviction’, she told Metro.co.uk. 

‘The wealth that is coming in, it can be shared. Yes, we need housing. But it can be shared.’

She continued: ‘People are struggling but they’re being pushed further down, even with the cuts from the government. People are hungry. 

‘I’m petrified. I’m struggling. I’m below the breadline. The food hub is a help. I take my children and my grandchildren.’

In a speech outside the site earlier in September, a little girl named Ciido, 6, whose family uses Homegrown, told protesters: ‘We have to keep trying until it’s opened. This site is special to us and Haringey cannot shut it down.’

It is the third time Homegrown has been evicted from different spots in Tottenham ‘for gentrification reasons’ and officials ‘are not listening’, Rose and Emma claim.

‘It’s kind of a pattern of social cleansing that we’ve noticed across Tottenham’, Emma said. ‘At the moment in Tottenham Hale, there’s a lot of emphasis on rebuilding new flats in the area to make it more attractive to prospective buyers. 

‘But within that, community groups such as ourselves are largely being excluded from the planning decisions.’

Mum-of-four Rose started Homegrown in 2015 after experiencing homelessness and domestic violence.

Alongside feeding locals, Homegrown aims to assist vulnerable young people at risk of falling into youth violence or crime.

‘I started Homegrown on my kitchen table’, Rose says. ‘I was watching from my windows and there were kids playing outside. When I was observing, there were a lot of wrong things happening.

‘So I invited some kids inside to share my daughter’s language lessons and after that, it just got bigger and bigger.

‘A lot of kids walk through the area and they just feel strange. They feel like they don’t belong.’

Emma added: ‘The only solutions politicians seem to be proposing are to further police the area, as opposed to actually investing in services that are able to support children and family at risk…

‘A lot of people we work with don’t feel they’ve been supported by the police, they don’t feel safe. 

‘They are asking for services that actually suit their needs, for further mental health support, for parent groups. 

‘There are so many things that could be done to address challenges being faced by young people apart from criminalising them.’

An NHG spokesperson says the company rented out the space on a temporary basis after acquiring it to provide 353 residential homes, alongside non-residential space.

In a statement, they added: ‘While plans for the development were being prepared, we let out space at a low cost on an interim basis.

‘All tenants were aware of the short-term nature of their tenancy and we kept them informed about potential dates for vacating the site and provided notice as agreed in their leases. 

‘Homegrown did not have a tenancy, but we kept them updated on the date they needed to vacate and offered them an alternative option, which they refused.’

NHG say they ‘have offered to keep in contact with Homegrown to ensure they are considered should a suitable site become available in the new development’.

A Haringey Council spokesperson also said councillors and senior officers have met with Homegrown several times since July to identify the support they can offer, including help finding them a new site.

They continued: ‘As a hyper-local organisation Homegrown understandably want to remain in Tottenham Hale. 

‘This presents a significant challenge around relocation because council-owned facilities in the neighbourhood are limited, especially given Homegrown’s requirement for a garden, kitchen and classroom space.

‘Despite the fact this is not a council-owned building, we are committed to exploring all options within our portfolio for a possible solution. 

‘As well as support to identify a new property, the council has offered Homegrown temporary storage space free of charge and help from our Voluntary and Community Sector Team to secure new funding for their activities.

‘We have also been in regular contact with the GLA’s Culture and Community Spaces at Risk Office over the last month, who have been supporting Homegrown for some time, to explore how we can work together to support Homegrown and find a resolution.’

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