Ride feeds into meal project
SPONSORED EVENT HELPS FUND DROP-IN FOR NEEDY OF COMMUNITY
A GROUP of residents banded together to cycle 20 miles to help raise money for a volunteer-run project that feeds the Felling community.
Volunteers from Foodcycle Felling take surplus food and turn it into a three-course community meal every week for anyone who needs it. Anyone is welcome to attend the meals with no questions asked – and many people regularly attend for social reasons.
Felling resident John Dolan saw how important Foodcycle is to local communities and knew he had to do something to help raise some money for the project. John, along with around 10 others, decided to do a 20-mile charity bike ride setting off at noon on Sunday from Felling Square.
John, 47, said: “I don’t see myself as well off but I’m lucky because I have an education and a good job but I’m sick and tired of seeing people struggling and hearing excuses from the Government. Nobody seems to be doing anything about it.
“And with the country the way it is now, it’s going to get even worse before it gets better. With the school holidays coming up, children won’t get free meals at school, they have to rely on their parents.
“People can only take so much before it’s too much and you have got to react. I knew I needed to help in some way.
“I just thought I have to do something so a group of about 10 got together to do this challenge and we’re all contributing to it. Foodcycle is just amazing but if there is no stock and no volunteers then a lot of people won’t eat and that’s quite disturbing.”
As well as raising money for the project, John also hopes to shine a light on the brilliant work of everyone at Foodcycle.
Jasmine Maddison, a project leader at Foodcycle Felling, said charities like theirs are “vital” for communities amid the ongoing cost-of-living crisis. She said: “Our charity and others like us are vital for our local community considering the current economic climate. We take food that is past its best-before dates and create three-course meals that anyone can come along to.
There is no need to tell us why you’re here; all you have to do is walk through the door. The only thing we ask for is a telephone number and that’s so we can let you know if we have to cancel for whatever reason.
“A lot of people get isolated and lonely so it’s also a good chance to get out and surround yourself with people.
“Some people are there purely for the social aspect; they don’t even eat, they will just come for a cup of tea. Some people couldn’t go out of the house for the majority of the pandemic so it’s about bringing people together again.”
Jasmine said they’re all “over the moon” that the group took on this huge challenge and said it’s “fantastic”. She said: “This was nothing to do with Foodcycle; this was just someone who came up and told us they were doing this for us. It gives us so much validation that someone is doing this.
“It just makes you feel like people are seeing the impact we are making and they want to help; it’s just fantastic.”