A bumper harvest for community foodbank
STOCKPORT Homes’ Your Local Pantry project has benefited from a harvest of fresh fruit and vegetables thanks to The Rotary Club of Stockport Lamplighter.
The two organisations have begun working more closely together to look at how they can help improve lives and services for Stockport residents and one area they have focussed on is addressing food poverty.
Joint working between Rotary and the Pantry project came about when Rotary Club member Tony Ashurst approached other committee members of the Green Lane Allotment Society in Heaton Moor who supported him in appealing to plot holders to donate surplus produce.
Tony said: “For the first four weeks I could not fit all the fruit and vegetables in the boot of my car, from apples to zucchinis and everything else in between, including misshapes.
“Carol, a volunteer who runs the Pantry, has been delighted and very appreciative to receive the fresh produce and has told me that all of it has been taken up by the residents.
“Allotment produce is seasonal, unlike the supermarkets, and shortly will draw to a close.
“I would like to see the idea taken up by other allotments in Stockport because if they are anything like me, you always plant more than you require.”
Robin Burman, chairman of Stockport Homes’ board, said: “We are very grateful to the Rotary Club for helping to provide Your Local Pantry with a supply of fresh fruit and vegetables for our members. I know what good work they do in Stockport.
“Without the support and generosity of local organisations we would not be able to provide this vital service for local residents.”