Surplus food can be unpredictable and, at times, challenging to use; think giant celeriac, pallets of limes, or 50kg bags of porridge oats. At the beginning of 2023, we made the decision to explore new and innovative ways to access and utilise as much surplus food as possible. From this, the idea for the Redistribution Kitchen Wales Project was born! Funding for the project was awarded by the Sustainable Food Challenge, a partnership between Cardiff Council, Monmouthshire County Council, the Cardiff Capital Region Challenge Fund, and Welsh Government, supported by the SBRI (Small Business Research Initiative) Centre of Excellence. It aims to identify and support projects that can harness the potential of land, technology, and people to increase the sustainable production and supply of locally grown food in the Cardiff Capital Region. 

Situated in Cardiff and Vale College, the project kicked off in January 2024 and runs three days a week, Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. During which time, our chefs and volunteers prepare, cook, and package the meals for the charities and community groups and taking part in the trial. Lucas and Stef, our chefs, are experienced and enthusiastic teachers who ensure that volunteers can develop essential culinary skills.

So far, volunteers have devoted more than 145 hours to preparing, chopping, dicing, peeling, and cooking, resulting in over 4,300 meals ready for distribution. We’ve received positive feedback from both volunteers and recipients of the RKW meals; Judith Climer, representing the Michael Climer Legacy Fund at Holy Trinity, has praised the project’s progress:

The meals are made using high-quality ingredients and are nutritionally balanced, providing two of your recommended five servings of fruits and vegetables per day. They’re designed to be accessible and healthy, aiming to encourage individuals to explore new flavours in a cost-effective and convenient way.

Despite our best efforts, the surplus we receive doesn’t always encompass all the necessary ingredients for our meals. As a result, food businesses across Wales have kindly chosen to support us, offering incredibly generous donations of food or assisting in the preparation of more challenging ingredients.

To ensure the sustainability of projects like Redistribution Kitchen Wales, we need a greater supply of food. Currently, our warehouse stocks are low, making it harder to get enough food to the 171 community groups and charities we serve. In order to meet current demand, we need an additional 60 tonnes of surplus food monthly. This is before we consider the 176 community groups currently on our waitlist, eagerly awaiting assistance.

We are looking to expand this project further. Currently, the project is set to end in June, but due to its obvious success so far, we would love to keep it going. The Redistribution Kitchen Wales Project has made a positive impact on local communities, both of environmental and social significance. Thank you to all those involved, suppliers and volunteers and we look forward to future opportunities.

The post Introducing our Redistribution Kitchen Wales Project appeared first on FareShare Cymru.

About Y Pantri

In 2023, Y Pantri was set up in Colwyn Bay, becoming Wales’s first ‘social supermarket’ service. It was set up in response to the ever-growing Cost-of-Living crisis, by St Giles Cymru. Furthermore, the aim of such an establishment is to allow members of the community to choose their own food, that is more suited to them and their families, rather than being allocated a selection of products, like that of a food bank. This is beneficial for consumers’ confidence and independence, allowing them to get back on their feet with a sense of control over their situation: a sense of stability in such unstable circumstances.

It currently is in support of over 75 people, with an aim to lift them out of poverty indefinitely. There are 121 trained experts who offer advice and referrals to those who use the service.

“I had a rough upbringing, my dad was a single parent and there was alcoholism in the family. We struggled with the cost of living even back then, and financially we were in a bad place. Donations from the church, or neighbours were well received, running the Pantri helps me to get people in a better place, and be able to move forward. Being in the position I am, as a parent, I understand the importance of being able to provide for your children, and the impact that has on your mental health if you can’t; taking this pressure away from families and helping the vulnerable is rewarding in itself, but it’s also important for my son to know his mum does good for the communities she was brought up in, and be a role model for him. I strive to make people’s lives better, and this opportunity to work in the Pantri is perfect for me to do this.”

Stacey Brady- Pantri Co-ordinator

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How does the social supermarket work?

Y Pantri offers memberships to those who use the service, costing only £3.50 a week. This includes the choice of 10 items, colour-coded in terms of retail pricing. Members can attend the facility once a week and are offered a choice from a vast selection of goods, some of which have been provided by Fareshare Cymru. Y Pantri was established by St Giles Cymru, which allows the facility to go beyond food distribution, with the charity providing additional services like offering advice and support via Wales’s Peer Advice Network. Similarly, they work to support both people at risk of criminal exploitation and those who have been caught within the Criminal Justice system, offering support and aid in the rebuilding of their lives. Furthermore, a ‘wrap-around’ approach is taken regarding families, going beyond the surface-level issue of limited access to food for families and tackling other issues such as employment.

“FareShare and St Giles Cymru have a really good relationship. We reached out to them when we knew Y Pantri would be opening in the North Wales area and visited their warehouse in Speke. The staff and volunteers do an amazing job. We now have four deliveries a week, which is important to us as a Pantri to be able to deliver the goods to our clientele. Without the help of FareShare, we wouldn’t be able to fulfil the needs surrounding food poverty in the area. Some of the goods we received are expensive, and our local community wouldn’t be able to afford this, some foods they have never seen, or know what to do with. FareShare have opened opportunities for people to taste new and a different processes of cooking. They cater for vegan, vegetarian, glucose free etc, which is amazing.”

Stacey Brady- Pantri Co-ordinator

FareShare Cymru have made and continue to make a significant impact on projects like this. We continue to redistribute surplus to get results like these and help make a positive difference in people’s lives. If you would like to find out more about Y Pantri and get involved, here’s a link to their website.

Here is another link that will connect you to a piece created by ITV, which features both FareShare Cymru and the Y Pantri project.

The post The innovative Y Pantri project and how they help feed the community appeared first on FareShare Cymru.

What is Splott’s Community Volunteer Breakfast Club?

This project is run weekly, every Thursday 8.30-10.30. It is open to everyone and what makes this project so special is that no questions are asked, enabling those who utilise the service to feel comfortable and at ease. A donation is welcomed, not mandatory, in exchange for a full English breakfast, tea and coffee and access to a pantry of food, which Fareshare Cymru helps provide. Alternatively, you can pay for someone else’s breakfast, which encourages the community feel. Furthermore, there is a child play area, with volunteers stationed to allow parents some much-needed respite. There is also a charity shop, built up from donations from the community, with profits going into the charity, to make projects like this possible.

Why are projects like these important?

Projects such as this one allow consumers to meet new people from various backgrounds, allowing them to expand their social networks and build friendships. Co-founder of the project, Angela, expressed the importance of food being the ‘bringing of people together’.

She went on to discuss how the relaxed nature of the project encourages the formation of unexpected friendships, “the easiest way to come together is over breakfast. You can sit across from someone you don’t know and will sit and chat while you’re eating. Suddenly they’re new friends”. She emphasized the diversity of people the service helps, with some people having problems, like that of poverty and some suffering from loneliness.

Projects like these not only benefit people using the service but also volunteers. We spoke to Ted Bush, a 90-year-old volunteer. Ted drives to collect food from different locations, which is then used in the pantry and breakfast kitchen. He explained to us how rewarding volunteering for this community project is, “helping somebody else at my age… I’m very lucky… it’s an experience”. He described how helping makes him feel “less lonely”, with everyone being “so friendly”, having started volunteering at the community kitchen after his wife sadly passed away several years ago.

Projects like this are clearly so important to bring the community together and have been so rewarding for all those involved. When asked to give advice to someone who was thinking about setting up a similar project or volunteering at one, the overwhelming response was “Don’t think about it, just do it”, it has “regenerated the sense of community”, which was becoming lost.

FareShare Cymru continues to support projects like this and work alongside CFMs to help create a positive social and environmental impact on the wider community.

The post Splott Community Volunteer’s Breakfast Club appeared first on FareShare Cymru.

What do they do?

The Luncheon Club is run solely by volunteers, opening every Tuesday and Thursday. A three course meal is provided, for only five pounds per head.

Meals utilise products provided by FareShare Cymru and are usually fairly traditional. When we visited, the menu consisted of sweet potato soup, chicken casserole with mash and green beans and banana cake with bananas and custard for dessert. These meals prove very popular with service users, especially the themed events held: For St. David’s day, they got a choir in and served traditional Welsh dishes and for the Coronation and Jubilee, an afternoon tea was organized. This Christmas, an anticipated 100 people will attend, the biggest day in their annual calendar.

What is the need for a place like this?

The social impact on the community is invaluable. Dorothy, who runs the club, expressed how rewarding her role is:

The majority of attendees are retired members of the community , who use a local community funded mini bus to travel to the club, free of charge. The socialization for these people is so important, it is a lifeline for them. An expected 40 people attend each week, with friendships formed and stories shared, the atmosphere is incomparable.

What impact does it have on those who use it?

We also spoke to one of the service users, Maevis. At the age of 96, she is a highly valued member of the luncheon club. She explained how lonely she could be before finding out about the club and how valued her friendships she’s made because of it are. The food is always excellent and the company is well matched.

The sense of community makes people like Maevis feel supported and valued. She expressed excitement for the raffle offered weekly, “I always make an effort to enter the raffle, it’s my little bit of fun every week”. A local mini bus picks her up from her door, taking her and her next door neighbor, who told her about the club, to and from Cornelly.

Other than word of mouth, news of the Luncheon Club is available on their Facebook page, which lists the menu for the week and posts pictures of what the club has been up to, encouraging engagement.

This project has been able to stay open due to the incredible run of volunteers over the past 35 years. This, and the consistent supply of food from FareShare Cymru is the reason that people, like Maevis, have a safe space, a community to be a part of.

The post Come to North Cornelly Luncheon Club with us! appeared first on FareShare Cymru.