Help needed Food charity appeals for volunteers
AFOOD charity that feeds thousands of people across Bristol each year is appealing for volunteers to help ensure its work can continue.
FoodCycle has been operating a community meals service in the city since 2009, feeding around 100 people a week.
The charity collects surplus foods from businesses and supermarkets across the city, cooking it up into a three-course meal.
It runs once a week at the Barton Hill Settlement, which launched in 2009 and Easton Christian Family Centre where the service started this year.
Between 40 and 50 people – from OAPs to refugees and the vulnerable – attend each of the weekly meal meetups, which are hosted by volunteers.
Not only do the sessions offer a hearty meal, it also offers those who may live on their own and may be isolated, the chance to socialise and mix with others.
The sessions also reduce the amount of food waste and help tackle food poverty in the city.
However, since the start of the coronavirus pandemic the charity has had to remodel the way it operates.
Due to the lockdown it had to shelve the weekly meal sessions and instead launch a ‘Cook and Collect’ service.
Volunteers go out and collect surplus food supplies which are then brought back to both of the city bases, where another team of volunteers cook up meals.
The team put together three or four healthy meals which users can sign up to collect and take home to enjoy.
But the fact the service has morphed to a ‘Cook and Collect’ operation due to the pandemic, has meant many of those who used to attend the meals have once again been left feeling isolated.
As a result the charity set up a ‘Check in and Chat’ initiative for users of the community meals service.
Those signing up get a weekly call and a chat with a volunteer, to make sure they’re OK.
FoodCycle spokeswoman Lucy Self said: “It was no longer possible to have the weekly meals because of the lockdown so we launched the Cook and Collect service.
“We realised that what we did was so much more than provide a meal.
“People were not only missing the meal but also missing the social aspects of the service and that’s when Check in and Chat was launched.
“The Check in and Chat has proved hugely successful and when it started during the first lockdown we had around 200 people sign up.
“People continued to use the service when the lockdown lifted but now with the new restrictions in place, we are seeing demand for it soar once again.”
The effects of the pandemic has also meant a drop in the numbers of people volunteering at the charity.
“Due to isolating or shielding from the Covid-19 pandemic, volunteer numbers have dropped significantly,” said Lucy.
“Without volunteers, Foodcycle cannot provide a vital service to the community who have come to rely on their weekly meals and food provision.
“There are many roles we need extra help with from collecting the surplus food to picking up the phone and ringing people for the Check in and Chat service. We need volunteers to fill these roles right across the board.”
The cook and collect service runs every Saturday at the Barton Hill Settlement from 1.30pm-2.30pm and at Easton Christian Family Centre at St Jude’s every Wednesday from 7.30pm to 8.30pm
To find out more sign up to volunteer visit www.foodcycle.org.uk.