The exhibition, located in the foyer of university’s school of art and design, will showcase the volunteers who work with FareShare Cymru in our Cardiff warehouse as well as the food that we redistribute to the charity and community groups we work with. Volunteers have helped to significantly to ease the cost of living crisis for vulnerable people and the exhibition will act as a celebration of the work they do.

FareShare Cymru is a food redistribution charity serving South and West Wales whose mission is to fight hunger and tackle food waste – two of the biggest social and environmental issues the world is currently facing. Food becomes surplus when it can no longer be sold. This could be due to packaging errors, passing its best-before date, or simply because it doesn’t look right, despite the fact it is perfectly good to eat!

By redistributing this food to charity and community groups, individuals can get it at a fraction of its retail value – meaning the most vulnerable in society have access to healthy and nutritious food that would otherwise go to waste.

Another element of the exhibition will demonstrate the excellent work of the groups we work with – who provide services that are so much more than just the food they provide.

Tony Charles, who is an alum of Cardiff Met graduating from the School of Art & Design in 2020 used his experience volunteering with FareShare Cymru as inspiration for this exhibition and is hoping to demonstrate the valuable impact the charity has on the lives of the people who rely on the service.

The exhibition runs from 14^th February until the 4^th March 2023 at the Foyer Gallery, Cardiff School of Art & Design, Cardiff Metropolitan University (Llandaff Campus). 

For further information please contact:

tony@tonycharlesphotography@gmail.com

07789 501050

www.tonycharlesphotography.co.uk

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A part of FareShare Cymru’s wider strategy is to reach more people and communities in Wales – the move into Pembrokeshire will be the second phase of the strategy. The grant will cover staffing costs, costs associated with the vans used to collect and drop off the food, and volunteer training.

In November 2022, FareShare Cymru announced that they were expanding to West Wales with the help of Carmarthenshire-based café Cegin Hedyn and the University of Wales Trinity Saint David. The West Wales Partnership has enabled FareShare Cymru to deliver to charities in Carmarthenshire and support them with good quality surplus food for their food projects.

The expansion has since developed relationships and opportunities so that more charities and community groups can get involved with FareShare Cymru.

This also includes recruiting volunteers to help us to drive the vans and transport food into the further-reaching parts of Wales. Volunteers are essential to FSC’s operations and so if you are based in the Carmarthenshire area and are interested in volunteering please get in touch.

Speaking on the first phase of the expansion, Heather Thomas said;

“We are making real progress in our expansion and it’s been fantastic to see our new members engaging with their local communities, offering a service that provides much more than just the food that they receive from us”

For more info on the LDTCS visit: https://wcva.cymru/funding/landfill-disposals-tax-communities-scheme/

To learn more about FareShare Cymru visit: https://fareshare.cymru/about-us/

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So can you help?

There are so many ways you can help us. Bringing attention to the work we do in Wales to your staff, customers and suppliers helps to raise our profile across the country. It is often understated the impact a business can have on its local community, and if even one person is reached, it can make a huge difference to a family in need.

Get your staff and stakeholders involved! When they see the reasons for choosing us they will be motivated to help too. This can include donations and fundraising through collection boxes, fun office days, dress-down days, raffles, food donation collections, and team-away days. All of which FareShare Cymru would be happy to help you to organise.

How else can you help?

Fundraisers are vital to helping FareShare run its daily operations. If you, your staff, or stakeholders are part of a club, it would be great if you could suggest running a sponsored fundraiser to support FareShare Cymru. This could include clubhouse donations, sponsored runs, quiz nights or challenge events.

FareShare has had bake sales, London marathons sponsorships, and fancy dress days! Anything you can think of, we’ll be more than happy to be involved with the planning process and implementation – along with promoting your fundraising campaigns across our channels!

Corporate volunteering with us

If your company is looking to improve or take a different approach to its corporate social responsibility, we have volunteer roles ranging from admin tasks, warehouse work, and driving assistant jobs where you will meet some of the charity and community groups that we work with on a daily basis. It will be enlightening for your staff to contribute and see the difference we are making.

Some of the companies that have come in to work with us include Briggs Equipment, Admiral Insurance, and Olympus Medical equipment – a range of different people who had the opportunity to experience a day contributing to the fight against food poverty in Wales.

Donation schemes

It is possible for your employees to opt-in to directly donate to FareShare Cymru straight from their payslips. This will save them time and effort as opposed to manually having to donate to us each time they get paid.

What can your company gain?

A corporate partnership with FareShare will benefit your company in numerous ways. A visit to our FareShare Cymru Regional Centre and a project that receives FareShare food can allow you to see the difference you are making first-hand and the impact of your support. Your employees can observe the impact of your funding in a meaningful way. It also leads to positive PR stories and partner companies can benefit from significant tax relief through charitable work.

Choosing to support FareShare Cymru can help benefit both your company and the thousands of people living in poverty to receive food. To find out more about how your business can get involved visit: Corporate partnerships – FareShare Cymru

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“I decided to volunteer at FareShare Cymru as I am aware of how hard it is for families in this economic crisis and I admire the work that FareShare Cymru does to help meet the need of the most vulnerable at this time.”

Jon (Volunteer)

It is the volunteers who come through our doors who make the real difference, giving valuable time to ensure people in Wales do not go a day without food.

Have You Considered Volunteering?

Volunteering at FareShare Cymru does not only help us, the charity and community groups we work with, and the most vulnerable people in Wales but it also allows you to gain experience whilst meeting knowledgeable food and drink industry experts.

“Volunteering at FareShare Cymru offers a dual opportunity to help get food to those who need it as well as divert good food away from landfill. And the team is great too!”

Catherine (Volunteer)

You will engage with the local communities, whilst seeing some of the most important projects in Wales, which are not only aiming to tackle food poverty but also provide services that give a hand up to their users.

The Experience

FareShare Cymru prides itself on giving its volunteers an enjoyable experience despite the serious nature of the work that we do. We want to demonstrate the difference that we make with the charity and community groups, who are all working hard to make the world a better place.

“Everyone is really friendly and committed to the cause. When you do this kind of work you really do get out just as much as you put in, if not more! Just knowing that you’re making a difference is rewarding in itself and so I would recommend that anybody gives it a go”

Tricia (Volunteer)

Within minutes of stepping into our warehouse, you will begin to see the effort and dedication that goes into our operation – from our staff to our volunteers, each one with a passion for tackling food poverty and hunger.

What Will You Learn?

From finding out where the food we source comes from to how we get it to our members, the FareShare learning journey will give you information on how you can play a part in reducing food waste and becoming an ambassador in the fight against food poverty.

You will also be given the opportunity to take on bespoke FareShare UK courses to demonstrate your knowledge of food safety, maintenance, and warehouse management. Adding qualifications to your CV and giving you an added edge when entering the industry.

We value the importance of giving those who are trying to move into new roles an opportunity to increase their employability. We will aim to do all we can to try and get you on the right track to improve your prospects of moving into the right career.

Find Out More

To find out more about making a difference by volunteering at FareShare Cymru visit https://fareshare.cymru/volunteer-with-us/ or email volunteer@fareshare.cymru

The post Make Volunteering at FareShare Cymru Your 2023 Challenge! appeared first on FareShare Cymru.

Established over 30 years ago, they’ve supported over a quarter of a million people who’ve needed help with the things many take for granted – food, clothing, education, and employment.  

Foothold Cymru focuses on what’s important to the people of West Wales and works with communities to make changes where they’re needed. And at this time of huge social, environmental, and economic upheaval their work in has never been more needed.  

Foothold Cymru: More Than Food

Foothold Cymru Community Hub houses a Zero Waste Hub, a recycled paint store, a regular Repair Café, a Tool Library, Clothing Exchange, and a youth drop-in service. And it’s also the home of one of Foothold Cymru’s Community Food Stores.   

The Community Food Store runs like a community pantry with individuals paying a membership fee, which provides Members with weekly access to great quality surplus food. The stock available is mainly sourced from FareShare Cymru and FareShare Go.  

“the rising cost of living is causing people in our community incredible concern. They need to make their money go further to make ends meet, and that’s where our Community Store helps”

– Janice Morgan,  Deputy Chief Executive

With the support of dieticians from Hywel Dda University Health Board, Foothold Cymru has developed a ‘suggested food list’ for Members of the Community Store. The ‘list’ is popular among Members and encourages them to follow a more balanced diet.  

The variety of foods provided by FareShare Cymru has meant Members are able to access a wider variety of foods and foods they may not have been able to afford in the past. Foothold Cymru encourages Members to try new foods by sharing recipes tailored to the store’s available produce. On one occasion, giving out samples of celeriac soup to encourage people to take the vegetable home.  

“Everybody was taking celeriac and the recipe home, and everybody went out excited to try something different and new”  

Emma Morgan, Project Officer

Foothold Cymru also runs a food delivery service for individuals and families in isolated rural communities. The service provides a lifeline to those who may otherwise not be able to access healthier foods and those struggling to make ends meet. The delivery service also acts as a source of support and friendship. 

“I spend a little bit of time with them, they are older, so I have a good chat with them, make sure that they are alright”

Wyn Williams, Driver 

As part of FareShare Cymru’s extension into West Wales, Foothold Cymru’s Stebonheath site is now the Llanelli-based local collection point. This means other Carmarthenshire-based community food projects can benefit from a FareShare Cymru membership.  

“It opens it up to everybody else as well”  

Sophie Morgan, Senior Project Manager

Not only has the local collection point provided a source of good surplus food, but it has also created a sense of community amongst the groups that use it. Local projects are now visiting one another to talk about how they can best support their communities together.  

“We all work together towards the same goal” 

Emma Morgan Project Officer

Further information

Foothold Cymru: https://footholdcymru.org.uk/

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“It means Seed Kitchen in Welsh, I believe that we are all seeds and we grow to become the people we are, but the environment in which we grow is vital’

This is what drives Cegin Hedyn owner Deri Reed to work with volunteers in the kitchen. Having grown up in Carmarthen with the opportunity to cook and access fresh produce, he wanted to give something back. When the opportunity arose to be able to use surplus food for a purpose bigger than the giving itself, the lightbulb lit up in his head.

“We run as a pay-as-you-feel café, allowing the public to come in and try the fresh and delicious food we make. It is unique to Carmarthen and allows us to help and give back to the community in so many different ways”

There is an opportunity at Cegin Hedyn to purchase tokens to hang on the front sign, one token is a meal and allows visitors to give someone who may not be able to afford it the chance to enjoy a meal on them. Just one way the restaurant is providing a helping hand to the community.

At the heart of the Cegin Hedyn project are the volunteers who come in day in and day out to help Deri, which means he has more time to develop the restaurant – making it the most welcoming environment it can be for visitors.

“The most rewarding part of this project is the volunteers. To see the development of some of the guys we’ve had come in is crazy to me. The more I can rely on my staff in the kitchen and restaurant the more time I have to ensure that we can offer a space for the community to come together”

Deri receives a weekly delivery from FareShare Cymru, whom he has been a big admirer of since he first heard of the work we were doing with charities and community groups across South Wales – being a Carmarthen local and aware of the ways he could help, Deri was eager to bring FareShare to West Wales.

“I can’t remember exactly how it started, but when the opportunity arose it felt like the perfect time to start – I’d be in discussion with FareShare for a while and so when I found out they were coming to West Wales I was delighted and ready to get involved”

Partnership

Cegin Hedyn and FareShare Cymru have recently partnered up to help fight hunger and tackle food waste in West Wales, with Deri using his network of volunteers to help FareShare Cymru to deliver to more communities across the country.

The partnership will see FareShare Cymru deliver into Carmarthenshire, Pembrokeshire, and Ceredigion using the University of Wales Trinity Saint David’s car park as a location to store their vans. You can find full details of the partnership announcement here: FareShare Cymru Partnership announcement

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The partnership with the University of Wales Trinity St David’s in Carmarthen will give FSC use of their car parking facility to store their transporting vans, making it easier to deliver surplus food to areas in West Wales and enabling FSC to support more charities and community groups across the country.

This project is part-funded by the Welsh Governments Landfill Disposals Tax Community Scheme and deliveries to Carmarthenshire have already begun. FSC will begin operations to move into Pembrokeshire and Ceredigion in early 2023, ensuring that no community is left to suffer.

Since deliveries to Carmarthenshire began in March, 42.45 tonnes of food have been redistributed to 10 community groups and charities in the region, with figures and member numbers continuing to rise as the expansion gathers momentum. 

From the initial conversation with Cegin Hedyn owner, Deri Reed, his passion for sustainability and helping those most in need was clear. Together, FSC and Cegin Hedyn have developed a system where they can work with local volunteers to support charities and community groups across west Wales to ensure that surplus food reaches those who need it most, helping to achieve the mission of fighting hunger and tackling food waste.

On the partnership Deri said:

“Having been an avid follower of FareShare Cymru’s work for over a decade I realise the challenge we have ahead of us. Becoming an ambassador for the charity will help us to push further into more of Wales, creating a bigger impact. Working with volunteers to strengthen our operations we can deliver surplus food to community projects who will give it to those most in need.”

Deri Reed – Cegin Hedyn

The current demand for services like FSC is at a level never previously experienced, with more and more people experiencing food poverty. It is only through building relationships with local organisations that FSC can rise to the challenge that the current cost of living has society facing.

FareShare Cymru CEO, Sarah Germain explained:

“We are delighted to be able to work with The Warren and the University of Wales Trinity St. David to expand our services further into West Wales. We recognise that now more than ever we have a duty to enable community organisations to give a hand up to people in need. FareShare Cymru will continue to expand our services further into Wales – creating an opportunity for communities to prosper”

Sarah Germain – CEO FareShare Cymru

Further information.

If you are a community group or charity organisation based in Carmarthen, Pembrokeshire, or Ceredigion and would be interested in using our services please contact members@fareshare.cymru

Welsh Governments Landfill Disposals Tax Community Scheme: https://gov.wales/landfill-disposals-tax-communities-scheme
Cegin Hedyn: https://ceginhedyn.org.uk/
University in Wales Trinity St David’s: https://www.uwtsd.ac.uk/
Joining FareShare Cymru: https://fareshare.cymru/joining-fareshare-cymru/

The post FareShare Cymru is excited to announce a partnership with UWTSD and Carmarthenshire-based café Cegin Hedyn. appeared first on FareShare Cymru.

We thought it would be best to let our trustees explain why they have gotten involved involved with FareShare Cymru:

Hitesh Vadagama explains his reasons below:

“First and foremost, the aims and objectives of FareShare align with my own personal values. As a British Citizen of Hindu faith, selfless service and philanthropic activities are taught to us at a young age. FareShare Cymru is a brilliant charity with a dedicated workforce. I am passionate about relieving poverty in society and the seriousness of the climate emergency facing us.

Second, I felt that I could make a meaningful contribution to the Board of Trustees from my extensive experience in the public sector. I have worked in Government for nearly 40 years and I also have wide experience in the voluntary sector through my work with local charitable organisations. Trusteeship has helped me build wider networks and enhance my skills at Board level.”

Finally, I wanted to give back to the community I live in and make a difference in that community.”

Hitesh Vadagama

Jon Belcher is big supporter of FareShare Cymru’s mission, which is why he decided to get involved:

“Most importantly, I’m a big supporter of FareShare Cymru. Improving sustainability and reducing food poverty are such important issues, particularly in the current climate, and it’s genuinely rewarding to be able to play a small part in FareShare Cymru’s work.

On a personal level, I changed jobs during Covid and found myself with more free time. I wanted to use that time productively and thought I had something to offer as a trustee. It’s been a really good experience so far.”

Jon Belcher

Volunteering during the pandemic gave Stephen Milburn the opportunity to learn more about FareShare Cymru, and he’s since decided to commit to supporting us as a Trustee:

“I began as a volunteer driver at FareShare Cymru during the pandemic and loved being part of the inspirational team in Cardiff.

Work commitments meant that I had to get back into the office but I was reluctant to leave an organisation that so directly addressed my desire to have a meaningful impact on the sustainability and equality issues in my local community. So I joined the board!

It’s great to support such a driven team in their work on the sharp edge of some of the most critical issues facing society today.”

Stephen Milburn

Lastly, the Chair of our board of Trustees, Simon Harris explained:

It’s great to be part of Fareshare Cymru, a social business that does so much good addressing both environmental and social issues in Wales that are so important, particularly now.  Being a Trustee is a small way I can help support other volunteers and staff here who do so much to make it work. I hope Trustees Week attracts many more in offering their time.

Simon Harris. Chair

We would also like to express our gratitude to Chris Bray and John Hunt, who are also valued members of our board of trustees.

To find out more about our Trustees visit: https://fareshare.cymru/meet-the-team/ or to learn more about Trustees’ week visit: https://trusteesweek.org/

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Hannah Cogbill started the Big Bocs Bwyd project in March 2020, and it eventually got off the ground in summer the same year with the aim being simple – give back to a community that needed help. 2 years later and the government has since helped to fund almost 70 Big Bocs Bwyd projects, all bespoke to their communities with a consistent quality.

Food poverty is an unfortunate reality in South Wales and in particular the area Cadoxton is based, with upwards of 70% of children relying on free school meals every single day. This reality is what led to Hannah starting the project, enabling children within the school to simultaneously learn about nutrition, cooking and the broader benefits of food whilst interacting with the members of the community – creating a link for them to develop their social and practical skills.

The focus was simple, if they could teach children to become food literate and understand the benefits of eating well, their prospects for the future could only improve, which is where the Junk Food Café comes into play. Each week, children from Cadoxton Primary School are given the opportunity to view the surplus food delivery in the café and create a recipe for a meal – the children are then taught how to cook the meal and serve it to the café’s visitors.

It was a mission to see a ‘community thriving, not surviving’ that led to the inception of Big Bocs Bwyd and Cadog’s Corner and a route towards addressing the hunger poverty in front of them. Through the café, teachers at Cadoxton are already seeing children’s ambitions and aspiration of ambitious careers run free which will only stand to benefit the community in the future. 

An important feature to this project in particular was that the school has a much bigger purpose than just education – it is the place where the next generation is formed. Teaching the children to give back to the people and places they were raised.

Cadog’s does not simply benefit the children at Cadoxton but it gives a purpose to the volunteers who come to help – this was particularly clear when integration back into normality was an issue for many during the coronavirus pandemic. The café provided a safe space for those hesitant to leave their homes to safely return to a routine in their own time by volunteering and helping out.

To learn more about Big Bocs Bwyd projects near you visit: https://www.bigbocsbwyd.co.uk/

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This event will give you the opportunity to discuss how we can benefit you, your organisation and the members of your community. FareShare Cymru are a charity dedicated to tackling food waste and fighting hunger, we save tonnes of surplus food each month that would otherwise go to waste and redistribute it to charities and community groups supporting those who need it most.

Register here: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/fareshare-cymru-at-mwldan-cardigan-tickets-449453606837

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