
Today I visited FareShare, a charity that takes food that is destined for landfill and makes sure that it gets to the people and organisations that need it.
FareShare’s aims are simple – to ‘fight hunger and to tackle food waste in the uk’. They do this by collecting donated food from around Lincolnshire from organisations such as Tesco’s and the Co-op, to name just two. The food, both fresh and packaged may be short-dated, discontinued or have damaged packaging, and in other circumstances would go to landfill; FareShare bring it to their warehouse in central Lincoln and with the aid of volunteers, sort it, package it and send it back out to a number of excellent community projects, who pay a small fee for the produce and use it for community larders, school breakfast clubs, warm place cafes etc.
Today I spent some time volunteering and I thoroughly enjoyed working with Jessica and Lorna, pictured above. Jessica and Lorna were so welcoming and were great at explaining what I needed to do, and I was soon sorting and filling crates. There was a great atmosphere in the warehouse and a real sense of doing something positive for the community. FareShare are an equal opportunties organisation, so I also got to work with volunteers from a number of different areas of the community, which again was a really positive experience. I thoroughly enjoyed my time there.
FareShare really need more volunteers, especially during the winter months, which is where you might come in! FareShare desperately need volunteers to help sort the produce in the warehouse; this involves working as a team to check the dates on the produce and to package accordingly to either be collected or delivered. To support delivery FareShare also need volunteer drivers; you don’t need a vehicle as they have their own vans, you just need a valid and full driving licence.
There are so many benefits to volunteering with FareShare. You will have the opportunity to gain skills such as communication, team-work and time-keeping as well as supporting the community where you work and study. The FareShare warehouse is only a 15-20 minute walk from the centre of Lincoln and very easy to find. Hot drinks and sandwiches are provided for volunteers. You can give anything from a morning a month to a a few hours a week, and if you are going home for periods of time or have study demands this is okay too, there is no ongoing commitment. If this has peeked your interest and you fancy helping out, please contact Jessica Moity jessica.moity@faresharemidlands.org.uk who would be very pleased to have your support.