We run a community larder stocked almost entirely from donations from supermarkets and individuals and from surplus foodstuffs delivered by FareShare. We have a small award-winning organic community garden and our extra room is used by the local Youth club and by other organisations giving something back to the town. Our hashtag is #feedbelliesnotbins and we work with our community to help save the planet!
We collect from 5 supermarkets each week and have two deliveries from FareShare and currently we save circa 1000kg of produce a week which is the equivalent of 50 tons per year. Any food not given out free at our 4 sessions a week is normally fed into our hotbin or compost bins to feed the garden or given to locals who have chickens or other livestock.
Using £20k of grant we have upgraded the lighting and heating in our building to be energy efficient and have solar panels and a battery to ensure we reduce our carbon footprint.
Our award-winning garden is organic, nature friendly and managed by a small group of volunteers who ensure that the garden supports the larder to provide composting, demonstrates community fruit and vegetable growing and grows some fresh produce for the larder whilst sharing gardening skills with the wider community, and involving the local primary school children where possible .
We have recycling points on site for soft plastics, batteries, stamps, bottle tops, bras, printer cartridges, electronic gadgets, vapes, spectacles and blister packs and work with local charity organisations to make sure everything is recycled.
