Soon after Meghan Markle and Prince Harry were engaged, she made a connection with a charity that has remained close to her heart despite the couple’s royal exit. In January 2018, six months after a fire killed 72 residents of Grenfell Towers, Meghan began visiting Hubb Community Kitchen, a food pantry based in a nearby mosque that helped the traumatized community in the aftermath. Sunday marked the third anniversary of the tragedy, and according to the Evening Standard, Meghan sent a message of support to Hubb’s employees and volunteers.
In a voice message, she mentioned the significance of the day. “I’m so proud of you, so is Harry, and we are sending so much love to you from across the pond and thinking of you today,” she said. “I’m sure it’s a difficult day, but also one where you can look at how much you’ve accomplished in the past three years, and how you continue to give back and be an example for all of those around you.”
Meghan also spoke about her experiences visiting Hubb. “I think back to when I met all of you and how you had all come together in the wake of what you experienced in your community, she said. “Now what you have done is such an inspiration, you continue to give back, you continue to put love in action. And that’s really what Hubb is all about.”
Meghan has been connected to the food pantry since early on in her life as a royal. The Grenfell fire occurred only a few months before Meghan decided to trade in her life as an actress for her relationship with Harry and her move to London, and during her years there, she visited the kitchen on multiple occasions. After the two were married, her first solo charity venture was a collaborative cookbook, Together, that helped raise more than £500,000 for the organization.
In a foreword for the book, she mentioned some of the cooking projects she took part in while volunteering at the kitchen. “You should undoubtedly arrive on an empty stomach because upon departure you will have been stuffed to the gills with samosas flecked with cinnamon, chapatis flavoured with carrots and onion, Russian semolina cake, Persian teas and my favourite avocado dip that I now make at home,” she wrote. She also contributed a few of her own recipes to the book.
Since Harry and Meghan moved to Los Angeles in March, they have continued to keep in touch with the charities they supported while they lived in Britain. In April, Meghan joined a Hubb meeting via Zoom to hear about how the organization is continuing their work through the pandemic. She also made a call) to support job training charity SmartWorks and wrote a letter in support of animal shelter Mayhew, and joined with Harry to express appreciation for crisis text line workers.
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