Under normal circumstances WCF were running their ‘World Café On Wheels’, a community kitchen that opens on Fridays. Volunteers would come in for a few hours, cook a lot of food and then share it with the public. This gave everyone an opportunity to connect and socialise over nutritious, freshly cooked and affordable meal. It also gave the volunteers an opportunity to develop their cooking skills, receive catering training and boost their employability. 

During COVID they started the ‘Wales Community Café on Wheels’ project which is funded by the Welsh Government. It involves cooking healthy and nutritious meals daily and delivering them to the most vulnerable people in the community. The ‘Wales Community Café on Wheels’ mainly supports elderly and disabled people, who they have supporting since November and will continue to until the end of the project. They also support a number of younger people, usually on a shorter-term basis, mostly those that had to self- isolate due to covid or those that are recovering from the virus.

The team is made up of 6 staff members: project coordinator, project assistant, delivery driver and 3 cooks (previous volunteers, but are now the members of staff), as well as 4 volunteers who help with deliveries. They cook 3 course meals for their beneficiaries. The first course consists of a cup of soup that changes every day, for example mixed vegetable soup, mushroom soup or lentil soup. The main meal can be anything from different kinds of curry (Indian, Bangladeshi, Thai), rice and couscous based dishes, roasted vegetables and meat to pasta bakes. Dessert is usually fresh fruit, home-made cake or pastry, yogurt or a fruit salad. Everything is cooked from scratch and is made with fresh ingredients.

WCF started with FareShare about 6 weeks ago to support their Wales Community Café on Wheels and they currently receive a weekly delivery. 

‘We get a delivery from FareShare on Thursdays and I put some time aside to come up with new recipes to include all the fresh produce that we get. This is great because it gives people variety and they get to try things that they would not normally eat. We always use 100% of what we get from you and there is never any waste’

‘The food from FareShare allows us to sometimes give people a little extra that we wouldn’t normally include, for example an extra side dish or bigger variety of fruit and vegetables in their dishes.’

They are very flexible and adapt to their beneficiaries’ cultural and dietary requirements, and the general consensus on the meals is extremely positive. 

‘Our beneficiaries appreciate everything and we rarely get any complaints. Anything that is fresh, nutritious and home-made people just love.’

The improvement in their beneficiaries’ health has also been noted and it is clear that the meals really do make a difference. 

‘Without it a lot of them would not be able to have a hot, freshly made meal each day. A number of the people we support were suffering from malnourishment before we started supporting them. Since we have worked with them their health has improved and they say that they feel much better, look better and have less health problems. It is just brilliant!’

WCF’s membership with Fare Share has allowed them to stop overspending their food budget as it provides them with extra supplies to make the impressive 3 course meals possible.

‘Being with FareShare definitely saves us money. The food is very good quality and is often organic. The value of the items we receive is normally higher than other deliveries we get and we normally receive a weekly delivery worth 4 times what we pay monthly which is great’. 

When they deliver the meals WCF also try to connect and socialise with the people they support. They check up on their beneficiaries, make sure they are okay, give them reassurance that they are not alone and support them in many different ways.

‘We don’t just cook and deliver. We connect with them and support them as well’

WCF would love to continue with FareShare after the pandemic but it will depend on their funding. They are hoping to extend the project, expand the kitchen at some point and start running a morning and afternoon shift in order to take the number of meals they make in a day from 40 to 80. 

We are very proud to be supporting WCF and the Wales Community Café on Wheels. They are doing fantastic things for the community and making fresh, healthy and nutritious meals for their beneficiaries which is so great to see!

The post Find out what ‘Women Connect First’ are up to appeared first on FareShare Cymru.

Volunteers’ week gives us the chance to say an extra thanks to all our volunteers. Without them we couldn’t do what we do. Our volunteers go that extra mile on a daily basis so together we can help feed those most in need across South Wales.

our Volunteering Officer

Jude designs and makes sustainable jewellery that has been in museum shops such as the Tate Modern as well as many independent galleries and shops across the UK. Due to the virus, she has had to cancel her current jewellery course and indefinitely put on hold any new ones. The galleries and shops she sells her work in have closed so it’s got a fairly quiet on the making side of things too.

Her work has suddenly turned quiet, but as she says she is healthy and in a position to help others in a tougher situation than hers. She saw a post on her local mutual aid Facebook group saying that we were in need of volunteers and thought it was perfect as it helps others and reduces waste – “a double win”.

Sam decided to start volunteering as he needed something to get me out of the house. He is currently searching for a job, but because of the pandemic it has been difficult. So other than volunteering with FareShare, he decided to use his time to also volunteer with the Coronavirus Tutoring Initiative, teaching chemistry and maths online, as well as standard tutoring on Tutorful.

“FareShare really grabbed me with it’s twin benefits of social and environmental good. I joined just before the lockdown hit and I’m proud to be contributing at a time when FareShare’s work is even more necessary. It’s been really fun and rewarding. I’ve really enjoyed getting stuck in on a busy day and it’s good for taking your mind off wider events.”

Nicole had been looking for somewhere to volunteer for a while, and when the pandemic started she had to stop working and suddenly had loads of free time to be able to give to volunteering. She is a prop and costume maker for theatre and other events, including Katy Perry live performances, and all of those types of events have been put on hold for a while.

She says she loves volunteering and that everyone is really friendly. “It keeps me active so it’s definitely helping me maintain some balance at the moment. It’s also nice knowing I’m helping in a small way to make life easier for people around this area to get through the pandemic too. It is a fulfilling way to spend my time”

Jane is an artist and usually has a small studio to make sculptures and do research. This space has been closed during the pandemic and so she has been concentrating on other creative activities such as writing, poetry, and drawing, as well as growing food.

She says she has found the experience of volunteering with FareShare rewarding, and that she likes driving the delivery van to the charities and community groups across South Wales, the physicality of the work, and the company of like-minded individuals who also believe in the work we do.

Thank you to all of our volunteers for the hard work they put in every week. If you volunteer with us and would like us to share your story, email info@fareshare.cymru

The post Volunteers Week 2020 (1st – 7th June) appeared first on FareShare Cymru.

‘When I retired I wanted something to do with my time. The admin role really interested me and I thought it would be a really rewarding job for me to do’ 

Throughout the pandemic Sue has continued her volunteering and has been an invaluable member of the team.  

‘I really enjoyed volunteering throughout lockdown as it gave my week some structure and got me out the house for a really good reason’ 

As a result of Covid the office and warehouse split into teams to make social distancing easier. Although this meant that Sue was not in contact with as many people as normal she got to meet lots of new faces. FareShare Cymru gained lots of new volunteers during the lockdown as people were keen to help out anyway and many people had more time to volunteer as a result of furlough or working from home. 

‘I got to work with lots of really interesting people from teachers to museum curators who otherwise might not have had the time or idea to volunteer.’ 

Thank you Sue for all your hard work and helping us out, especially during the pandemic, we really appreciate everything you have done and are doing for FareShare Cymru!

The post Sue’s thoughts on volunteering during COVID appeared first on FareShare Cymru.

Meurig is ‘semi-retired’, working as a freelance consultant and doing DIY work and other things in his spare time. Meurig started volunteering because he wanted to keep social while doing something beneficial for the community. 

“I think it is really important for peoples mental wellbeing to engage with different groups of people. I also wanted to give something back to the community and help keep community spirit high, so I thought I would really enjoy volunteering at FareShare Cymru’. 

Meurig is one of our delivery drivers, which involves dropping off the food pallets to individual community food members. It also involves taking the food to local collection points, such as the one in Swansea, where several organisations meet to collect the food supplies and then distribute it. 

He says “I am really enjoying the role as I like driving and it gives me an opportunity to find out more about FareShare as an organisation.”. He does mention that he has also got his eye on the forklift truck, so we will see how that goes!

In terms of COVID-19 Meurig says he feels very safe in the depot and out in the van as masks are mandatory and the depot is well prepared with antibacterial gel and other protective measures. 

He is keen to continue volunteering and especially during COVID-19 as there are more people requiring support because of unemployment, low incomes and self-isolation measures. 

Thank you for joining us Meurig and for doing such a great job!

The post Meet our volunteer Meurig appeared first on FareShare Cymru.