Meghan Markle dealt blow as beloved charity mysteriously shuts down

A food charity that had special links to Meghan Markle has confirmed its closure. The Duchess of Sussex got involved with Hubb Community Kitchen, a volunteer group created by survivors of the Grenfell Tower fire, in early 2018. Meghan has visited the kitchen many times privately and was even a major source of inspiration behind its first charity cookbook, "Together: Our Community Cookbook", which was announced in September 2018, in what was her first solo project of her short royal tenure.

The book, which was supported by The Royal Foundation and published by Penguin Random House, was a success, raising more than £557,000 in profits, all of which went to the community kitchen. It featured the women's own personal recipes from across Europe, the Middle East, North Africa and the Eastern Mediterranean and Meghan's foreword.

The Duchess said of the food charity at the time: "Melding cultural identities under a shared roof, it creates a space to feel a sense of normalcy - in its simplest form, the universal need to connect, nurture, and commune through food, through crisis or joy - something we can all relate to."

During her first royal speech at a lunch at Kensington Palace to celebrate the launch of the book, Meghan said: "I said in the foreword that this is more than a cookbook, and what I mean by that is the power of food is more than just the meal itself.

"It's the story behind it. When we get to know the story of the recipe, you get to know the person behind it.

"That's what we're talking about in terms of coming together to really engage and talk and to be able to celebrate what connects us rather than what divides us. That, I believe, is the ethos of Together."

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Following her departure from the Royal Family in 2020, Meghan kept in touch with the volunteers by sending video and voice messages until 2022.

Now, reports claim the food charity has shut down, with no explanation given behind the closure.

A spokesperson told the Daily Mail: "I can't talk about the Duchess of Sussex, but the Hubb community kitchen has stopped."