CVW was founded at the start of lockdown in March 2020 and initially sought to help those who were isolated by the pandemic by collecting their shopping and vital medication. Tara explained, “We instantly worried about those in our community totally shut off through lockdown and begun forging a community project to help those in the most vulnerable situations.  A simple act of collecting someone else’s shopping when they were unable to gave purpose to those on furlough and ensured no-one in the community was forgotten.”

From their initial services during the pandemic, CVW evolved, recognising that through the cost of living crisis there was a need for something between a traditional store and a food bank.  In February 2022, they opened a hybrid coffee shop and community pantry.  With sustainability at the forefront of their minds, CVW looked at surplus food options to stock their pantry and initially received surplus food from supermarkets. As more people started to rely on the pantry regularly, CVW looked to FareShare Cymru for a more reliable, frequent delivery of surplus food. Since starting their membership, they have received weekly surplus food deliveries consisting of a wide range of food including fresh fruit and vegetables, meat and dairy products alongside dried foods and tins.  

Most recently, CVW received a pop-up kitchen from FareShare Cymru, which has now been set up as a community kitchen at their base in The Sycamore Centre in Ty-Sign, Risca. With the kitchen now in place, CVW are looking ahead to how they can use the space to further support their local community. They plan to run cooking sessions, family-friendly workshops, and practical demonstrations to help people make the most of the surplus food available in The Pantri.

Tara explained:

“We’re developing our Community Kitchen because we see a need for this essential lifeskill. In The Pantri we offer baskets of food to our members for just £5. However, what do people do if they aren’t able to put recipes together from these core ingredients? We see this project as a way of helping families take control of their food budgets and still provide healthy and nutritional meals every day.”

These sessions will also build on CVW’s wider goal of promoting confidence, community and resilience through food. Tara shared her personal view on the deeper benefits of cooking together:

“Some of my fondest memories involve family meals. Cooking with my family genuinely brings me joy. Not only do your children learn important life skills and build confidence from having the independence to do things for themselves. But they also learn and develop additional skills; numeracy, communication and problem solving all from helping cook dinner. Most importantly, they have fun. A messy kitchen is a happy kitchen!”

The Pantri, launched just one year later.  A purpose designed high street community pantry.  Tara explained how they emphasise the positive impact of purchasing surplus food to their service users to help lift them up and reduce the stigma of using a pantry:

“We’ve focused our messaging to remove stigma of affordable food.  Our Pantri is here to help anyone; whether that be to make more conscious shopping decisions that lower their carbon footprint, or to elevate the pressure of food poverty.  We’ve been clear that this is not a food bank and we are repurposing food destined for landfill.”

Tara went on to explain how crucial food is in making their whole operation work:

“Everyone within our organisation is aware that when someone comes into our Pantri, there may be more that they need than our food.  Food is what helps us connect to everyone, it’s a simple conversation starter.  We ask about what their favourite soup might be and the next thing we’re talking about why they’ve come to Pantri and what other services we have that may help them.  It’s a gateway to offer people more support.”

As CVW has continued to grow and innovate over the last five years, they have set up a wide range of projects to benefit the community. Some of these include:

• A community bike hub where bikes can be repaired (instead of going to landfill) and given to people who need them
• a free school uniform scheme that allows people to get their hands on secondhand uniform for free
• a pet food bank and baby bank run from the back of The Pantri, giving extra support to families
• run community events for people experiencing loneliness and isolation.

The Pantri won The Trailblazer award at the Welsh Charity Awards in 2023 for the outstanding impact it is having in its local community.  Now boasting over 560 members, they estimate that they redirect 350kg food from landfill every week.  Also recognising that people may need an extra hand-up, they average three emergency food parcels per week; which is around 10 people per week fed for free. 

Now with a new base at The Sycamore Centre in Ty-Sign Risca, CVW continue to strengthen their relationships in the community and reach more people in need.  Tara explains “Whether it be a food parcel, a referral or a simple conversation, we are here to help.  We’re so proud of what we’ve achieved so far and so thankful for our partnership with Fareshare Cymru for making it possible.”

At FareShare Cymru, we’re proud to work with organisations like CVW that have a real impact on people’s lives. CVW continually strives to help people and find solutions to problems within their area. Whilst The Pantri is only one part of their organisation, CVW recognise that food is a crucial element to help people, reduce suffering, and foster a real sense of community. As Tara said herself, “There’s a much bigger picture…and food is always a part of that”.

The post CVW Mobilises Surplus Food to Empower Communities appeared first on FareShare Cymru.

Cwmaman Primary in the Cynon Valley in South Wales run a Big Bocs Bwyd project to provide access to food and essential items to members of the local community in Cwmaman. The project is run by school staff members and community volunteers, and they receive a proportion of the food that is available from FareShare Cymru. Rachel Bryant, who is one of the leads on the scheme, said:

We’re delighted that we receive such high-quality fresh produce, snacks, staples and treats from FareShare Cymru. We simply wouldn’t be able to source such quality items without being involved with them.

Rachel Bryant – Cwmaman Primary

Officially opening its doors in May of 2022, the Big Bocs Bwyd facility has become a lifeline for so many people in the local area who are feeling the effects of inflation on their pockets. Sarah Howells, another lead at the Project said:

People who access the Bocs are always thrilled to be able to use the ingredients on offer to make delicious meals, and help soften the blow of the cost of living crisis. Every time we open the Bocs, there’s always a queue of people ready to pick up food and other essential items.

Sarah Howells – Cwmaman Primary

The project has gone from strength to strength, and has expanded to do more to provide a hub for the community. Rachel, Sarah and the team have run events like a chippy dinner, for local people – where possible using items they’ve sourced for the Bocs. Rachel said:

Food is a key part, but it’s just one part of what we do. Our project aims to foster a sense of community in challenging times, providing a touchpoint for everyone in the local area.  The food we receive from FareShare Cymru is vital in doing that.

Rachel Bryant – Cwmaman Primary

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“People are thankful that they have a safe place to come, they know that if they come to us that we’ll help them”

Kate McShane, Project Manager

The community café has recently reopened after COVID restrictions. It now has 50-60 people visiting every week, and that number is growing week on week. The community café provide meals for anyone who needs one, for a suggested donation or for free. On Friday mornings the community café runs their Friendship Centre, with up to 40 people visiting. The Friendship Centre provides a space for people who might be socialy isolated to come and make friends over a warm meal.

“I have seen people accessing our community café and accessing the meals they were lonely they had issues with social isolation, and people come to the community cafe because it provides them with an opportunity to make new friends”

Kate McShane, Project Manager

As part of the Friendship Centre, craft sessions are run by Myrtle Houses’ artist in residence. In the sessions visitors create items that are of value to them. There are also dance and movement classes, run during the Friendship Centre, to encourage older service users to move and improve their balance and core stability. The Friendship Centre has become a vital space for local people to visit.

“It gives me a break from my husband, I need a break, cos he’s got health problems and I think he’s got a bit of dementia, I am finding it hard, and I feel if I have a break I can cope with it better”

Beverly, Service User

A lot of the food used in the meals at the Community Café and during the Friendship Centre, comes from FareShare Cymru and FareShare Go. The wide variety of food has meant those visiting Myrtle House are able to have a warm healthy meal, some of whom might not have eaten that day. As the food from FareShare Cymru varies week to week, the café no longer runs on a set menu, and now offers visitors a variety, with different meals each day.

“before it was set, and now it’s like oh what’s come in today, what’s for dinner today”

Susan, Volunteer

As Myrtle House have to raise all the money they need for their community projects, signing up as a FareShare Cymru member has saved them money which they have reinvested elsewhere. The food has also enabled Myrtle House to provide people with access to fresh food, whilst also feeding more people overall.

“It’s benefitted us financial because we have to raise the money to do all of our community work, and to feed people costs so the FareShare food has really helped”

Kate McShane, Project Manager

Through their community café and Friendship centre, Myrtle House are providing a friendly face and comfortable space over a hot meal, for those in need in their community.

“I think Myrtle House runs on good food, good conversation and good company”

Carol Roberts, Foodbank Coordinator

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“Foodshare fulfils a really important purpose in our local community”

Angela Baker-Earle, Foodshare Coordinator 

Foodshare Llantwit is just one of the projects held at the CF61 centre. As well as being able to access fresh and chilled food for free once a week, residents can benefit from a regular community café, seed swap, lending library and zero waste shop. This makes CF61 even more vital for the area.  

“I think the more things we can do whilst Foodshare is going on, it creates much more of a community effect”

Angela Baker-Earle, Foodshare Coordinator 

Many people visit Foodshare Llantwit because they are struggling with the increases in cost of living and, by using the service, they have access to food they might not otherwise have been able to afford.  

“I don’t tend to buy as much fresh stuff because it is so so expensive. I’ve picked up raspberries here today. In the normal shop, it’s so expensive it puts me off buying it.” 

Michelle,  FoodShare service user 

Residents of Llantwit Major are limited in the places they can shop locally, and therefore might be forced in to paying prices they can’t afford. Foodshare Llantwit aims to provide a stop gap for individuals who struggle financially with their weekly shop, whilst also supporting those who would have no food without the service. 

“Hopefully by having this programme, we can stop some people from going over into that real desperate need of not having enough food”

Angela Baker-Earle, Foodshare Coordinator

FareShare Cymru aims to provide all members with a wide variety of foods and fresh produce, depending on what surplus food is available. This means users of Foodshare Llantwit aren’t limited on choice. 

“Just because you can’t afford food doesn’t mean you don’t have the right to make choices about what you’d like to eat, what you’d like to feed your family. Fareshare allow us to provide more of a choice, fresher food and more protein options”  

Angela Baker-Earle, Foodshare Coordinator

Foodshare Llantwit has come out of a project called Rebuild that start over 2 years ago, to support people living in Llantwit Major. Foodshare now has around 45 weekly users and treats everyone with respect and kindness.  

“Last week we had lots of flowers because it was after Mother’s Day…and the number of people that were really happy to just walk away with a bunch of flowers. It’s just about the little things. And for people using Foodshare quite often those things are as important as getting the food.”

Angela Baker-Earle, Foodshare Coordinator 

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Cornelly Luncheon Club is a heart-warming place; friends catching up with each other over tasty food prepared by volunteers with huge smiles on their faces. The lunch happens twice a week with the whole community welcome to enjoy a three-course meal for £5.  

We enjoy the company. The soup is beautiful, the food is beautiful. You can’t fault it.

June Ball, diner at Cornelly Luncheon Club 

FareShare Cymru provides Cornelly Luncheon Club good quality, surplus food each week which is then turned into a meal by volunteer chefs.  

On average, around 30 people attend each lunch club, with most being of an older generation. As well as providing a hot meal, the club helps tackle isolation and loneliness.  

It’s good value for money, you get a good meal, and you get to meet people as well.

John Gillard, diner at Cornelly Luncheon Club

Liam Turner volunteers each Tuesday, on one of his days off from his professional chef job. Liam says he knows the partnership between the Cornelly Luncheon Club and FareShare Cymru is essential to the community, and one they wouldn’t want to lose.  

Many diners come in, it’s a social gathering for them and there’s a number who perhaps are widowed. It’s vital for a lot of the older diners who perhaps wouldn’t come out otherwise. But without Fareshare, that might not be able to happen.

Liam Turner, volunteer chef at Cornelly Luncheon Club

One of the main reasons the luncheon club uses FareShare Cymru is due to the cost. On average the food FareShare Cymru members receive is 5-10 times the value of the monthly membership fee. Liam says without FareShare they would have to increase the price and he’s unsure whether diners would then attend.  

We couldn’t necessarily go out and buy all the produce you provide us. We couldn’t afford to. We got salmon in last week, which is so expensive we couldn’t go out and buy it.

Liam Turner, volunteer chef at Cornelly Luncheon Club

Liam volunteers because he enjoys giving something back to the community. He also loves the task of making a meal out of surplus food. 

I design my menus around what Fareshare sends us. I’m always thinking ‘what goodies have they sent us this week?’ It sometimes can be a challenge but as a chef I quite enjoy it, because you can see what comes in and design your menus around it.

Liam Turner, volunteer chef at Cornelly Luncheon Club 

FareShare Cymru is proud to help Cornelly Luncheon Club support the community. If you would like to get involved, either to become a member, donate food or volunteer to distribute food, please get in contact.  

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One woman had to switch to universal credit and had six weeks with nothing during the switchover. She got into bad debt over it. She’s always been a really proud person, would never go to a food bank. But because she had that connection with us, every now and then she would send us a message ‘Have you got that and that? I haven’t got any food.’ It took her a while to get used to getting a big box of food on her doorstep as a response to that. She wouldn’t have known what to do without us. She would have gone hungry so that her kids had something to eat.

Emma Knight, Trustee 

The charity was originally set up to support one street and has grown to help hundreds of people. They started their membership with FareShare Cymru in May 2020 when people were in need due to the Covid-19 pandemic.  

There’s a woman in the food club who’s been a member for quite a while. She lost her husband and she defined us as her lifeline who got her through Covid. We were dropping a loaf of bread through her door once a week and it gave her somebody to see and a friendly face. She doesn’t think she would have got through with that one little thing.  

Emma Knight, Trustee 

The surplus food provided by FareShare Cymru has introduced a variety of different foods to FAN Community Alliance’s clients and now they are more willing to try new meals. This has a positive impact on people’s physical and mental health as people are building friendships while receiving a range of nutrients they need to keep healthy.  

The surplus food also allows the charity to save money and reinvest that into other projects. For example, they’ve recently resurfaced their car park to improve mobility access. 

The charity’s involvement with FareShare Cymru has also resulted in more awareness of the environmental impacts of surplus food. Now, just as many clients use FAN Community Alliance to help the environment as those who require food support.  

It’s sinking in now, even though it’s surplus, it’s not necessary just for the people who need it. It’s about making sure it’s not going to waste too. People were like ‘Oh no, it’s ok, there are people who are more needy than me.’ There’s quite a nice balance now between the people who need it and making sure there’s no waste’  

FAN Community Alliance is aiming to open a Climate Café soon and utilise even more surplus food. This means they will provide more meals to people and bring the community together.  

Having those connections locally so when you need support you have got it. We snap into action quickly when people need support”

Emma Knight, Trustee 

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“We were finding that when people met and they were chatting, everybody understood that other people have problems too. You might be able to help someone with their problem, and then someone may be able to help you with yours. You build that community spirit.”

Angela Bullard, Founder of Splott Community Volunteers

Since the pandemic, the breakfast club has adapted to a takeaway service but the need for help is higher than ever. Splott Community Volunteers help 50-80 people each week and they can see they’re making an impact.

It makes a huge difference to a lot of people. It means that they they’ve got energy. Single mums with young children who come in a bit worn down, because they’ve been feeding the children rather than themselves, and now they can feed themselves. That kind of thing we see quite a lot.

Splott Community Volunteers receive food from FareShare Cymru each week as well as picking up food from local supermarkets. When people come to get a hot breakfast roll, they can also fill a bag with fruit and veg, bakery items, ready meals etc.

We couldn’t exist without the food [from FareShare Cymru]. We really couldn’t. The supermarkets aren’t always reliable so if we hadn’t had the food from FareShare to handout last week, it would have been pretty poor show. People would have been turning up for no food.

Angela Bullard, Founder of Splott Community Volunteers

The food from FareShare Cymru is surplus that would otherwise have been wasted. It comes from farmers, manufacturers, suppliers and supermarkets. Because of the nature of the supply chain, there’s always a variety in food that Splott Community Volunteers has to offer.

It’s quite exciting every week to see what we’re going to get. We’ve been getting Marks and Spencer meals recently. They’ve gone down an absolute storm, because for some people, they are an absolute lifesaver. Yesterday we had paella and the dishes were enormous. One lady was like ‘I’ll take one of those, because that’ll feed my three kids and I don’t have to go out and buy all the ingredients together. It’s a healthy meal.’

Angela Bullard, Founder of Splott Community Volunteers

The organisation aims to provide people with healthy food whilst also teaching them food skills. Before the pandemic, they had a nutrition student working with them to help put together recipes. This is something the team hope to begin again once life returns to normal.

Splott Community Volunteers are doing great work in the community proven by the growing numbers and returning users.

“When one of our ladies first came, she was fostering a little boy. She confided that she was bringing him there because she wanted him to recognize that not all people were nasty, because he’d had a bit of a hard time. Gradually, we gained his confidence and he absolutely loved Breakfast Club. He started to trust people, he would go off with one or two of the members and play. Eventually she sent us a letter saying she couldn’t express the difference we had made in his life. And in making that difference, it had enabled her to adopt him. He still comes to visit now.”

Angela Bullard, Founder of Splott Community Volunteers

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Oasis Cardiff is a charity whose main aim and vision is to help refugees and asylum seekers integrate within their local community. They provide support for roughly 100-150 visitors each day from around the globe, including people from Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, Sudan, El Salvador, and Ivory Coast. During the week, they host various activities, while they also provide free lunch on weekdays.

FareShare has provided Oasis with good quality, surplus food for four years. Oasis uses this food to make their clients meals that respect their individual cultures and traditions. This allows them to settle down better and feel at home in Wales.

The surplus food provided by FareShare Cymru includes ingredients mostly used in Western cuisine. Oasis show their clients how to use those ingredients, often unfamiliar to them, and combine them with spices and flavours familiar to their own culture to make nutritious and tasty meals.

Food is really powerful. People share their story when they are cooking or eating. Where language is a barrier, they share the food along with a part of their own culture and story

Songyeon Choi, Oasis Kitchen Manager

Although their budget is limited as a small charity, the collaboration with FareShare allows Oasis’ clients to enjoy “special treats” such as Easter eggs and Christmas pudding, which they greatly appreciate.

In the beginning of the pandemic, when all shops closed down, FareShare kept going and for that we are really grateful

Songyeon Choi, Oasis Kitchen Manager

The food provided by FareShare has helped make a positive impact on people’s physical and mental health. Oasis show their clients how they can still make proper and healthy meals with a limited budget. An example is tinned food which, although cheap, can be used in various ways to create healthy meals.

The collaboration with FareShare has allowed Oasis to save money and invest in hiring more people in their kitchen to cook the nutritious meals they provide to their visitors. This means they’re supporting even more people and helping them integrate into the local community.

The post How Oasis Cardiff uses food to make refugees and asylum seekers feel at home appeared first on FareShare Cymru.

The folk we support don’t have any other networks of support, safety net or family or friends. We’re consistent and present for the folk at the centre. That’s really important.

Nkini Pulei, TAVS co-ordinator

Since March 2021, FareShare Cymru has been providing TAVS with good quality, surplus food for their weekly Food Co-op. For £2 a week, people can fill a bag with a wide variety of healthy food from fruit and veg, to tins to meat and dairy. The Food Co-op is about more than just handing out food and TAVS also provides people with cooking equipment like vegetable peelers to enable them to get the best of out the food provided.

We appreciate the variety of food (from FareShare Cymru) –the dairy, veg and meat are popular. It’s a good opportunity for people to have fruit and veg which might not be people’s priorities when buying food. I’ve enjoyed the opportunity for people to try new things too. We’ve had things they’ve enjoyed but haven’t been able to afford. We’ve been able to give people a better diet.

Nkini Pulei, TAVS co-ordinator

TAVS has seen a growth in the range of people who are accessing their food co-op from the homeless, vulnerably housed to the local community who are struggling with food. They hope to reopen their full service soon to provide cooking skills and craft days to give even more support to the local community.

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The Summer of Picnics project is run by the Tremorfa Pantry funded by the Flourish team from the Cardiff Community Housing Association (CCHA).

The project receives surplus food from FareShare Cymru, is sorted by a group of young people and then distributed to various families and community groups for picnics.

Originally put together three years ago by a group of young people with learning difficulties to help them socialise, it’s now grown to include young people from across the community.

The idea to provide people with picnic food was fueled by the news about summer food poverty.

The young people were really concerned. I couldn’t help them get their heads around the fact that young people would be struggling to have food on the table over the summer.

Heather McDowell, development officer at Cardiff Community Housing Association, CCHA

The young people lead the project, doing everything from logging the food that they receive, working out the quantities, health and safety and baking.  

The skillset that they get involved with, they’re unaware of, but you can see the improvement. Maths is one of the biggest ones.  We could get boxes of Skips crisps and there’s six in a packet and there are 80 boxes and we’ve got 50 families. There’s maths behind that and problem-solving. I’ve watched their confidence grow and working better together as a team.  

We’ve had a couple of parents who’ve been told to sit in the cupboard and not butt in.

Heather McDowell, development officer at Cardiff Community Housing Association, CCHA

This year, the Summer of Picnics has supported 50 picnics across Cardiff from play services, to faith groups to individual families.

One of the lads would come in and get the picnics ready. But then he was also involved with attending the picnics as a young person. The look of pride on his face was just an addition.

We’ve gathered a lot of feedback from families, and it’s just gorgeous. Really bringing communities together and really good produce. Some of it’s lasted beyond the picnic. FareShare has just been phenomenal at getting this gorgeous picnic food. Every week has been so appropriate and just lovely.

Heather McDowell, development officer at Cardiff Community Housing Association, CCHA

The project also helped build a sense of community between the young people. They put on a market that raised £300 for Afghan refugees and the CCHA took them to Barry Island funfair to say thank you.  

One particular lad had never been on the rides and was saying “we could never afford them as a family of five.” It was a particular treat and they appreciated it.

Heather McDowell, development officer at Cardiff Community Housing Association, CCHA

The young people have plans for the rest of the year with ideas for a Halloween trail and talks of beating a World Record for the biggest ever tombola.

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