Cheryl from Christchurch Foodshare recently joined us to observe a morning harvest. She met with the Two Steves at 7:20 am and accompanied them on their harvesting and delivery route.
It was fantastic to show Cheryl how she and her volunteer team fit into the overall Food Hub operation, including the distribution of surplus food to around 18 community groups each morning. The behind-the-scenes work at the Food Hub, which runs 7 days a week, wouldn’t be possible without our wonderful volunteers like Steve and Steve 🙏.
After her visit, Cheryl shared her thoughts with Tammy. She expressed her appreciation for the operation but also acknowledged the potential costs involved. While the food we pick up is free, the operation around it is not. There are costs for running the van, maintaining the depot, petrol for our volunteers, and salaries for paid staff in accounts, fundraising, HR, operations, and communications. Additionally, there are expenses for office space rental and depot equipment like freezers and fridges. The list is quite extensive.
“I really enjoyed my morning seeing how things work from the harvesting side of things.
The phrase which came to mind was that it’s like a “well oiled machine”! Everyone had their job to do and it all flowed very well 😊. The consideration which went into thinking about the needs of each group who benefit from the surplus food was lovely too.
The supermarkets knew the two Steve’s so picking up the food was straight forward and there are systems in place to make everything go well. (I’m sure there are hiccups at times but Monday was good!)
The other thing which struck me was that money wasn’t needed just to keep Ronnie on the road but the huge walk-in fridge & freezer must cost a lot to run too among other things!
Thank you for all the hard work you and the team at the depot put in.
Cheryl xx
If you believe in what we do, we have various ways you can support the Hub. Donations of money are appreciated but also volunteer time to help us keep our costs in check. If you want to get more involved, we would love to hear from you! Support Us | Shrewsbury Food Hub | How You Can Help Us