Charity provides safety net for those struggling with bills due to Covid
A COMMUNITY food club based in South Riverside offers about £25 worth of food for a fiver to help members suffering from rising bills.
This includes fresh fruit and vegetables, store cupboard favourites, and essentials that will often be worth £15 or more.
The Wyndham Street Pantry, run for and by its members, opened in May 2020 to help relieve food poverty in the area due to Covid.
It is managed by the South Riverside Community Development Centre, a charity dedicated to fighting the effects of poverty, and providing members with opportunities to learn and volunteer together to improve the neighbourhood.
Director of SRCD, Jen Abell, said: “We believe no-one should be priced out of a nutritional meal. Regardless of our income, we have all experienced price increases from gas, electricity, fuel, and inflation.
“The pantry can help to counteract some of those pressures. People from all backgrounds and circumstances are welcome.”
Volunteers operate on Tuesdays and Wednesdays ensuring that the vulnerable still have access to a wide selection of food.
Volunteer Lisa Connolly, 38, of Riverside said: “The pantry benefits the community as people have been struggling with money over Covid.
“For me, it helps having those extra bits in the house especially during Covid when I was shielding. We had a delivery service during lockdown which helped a lot of vulnerable people.
“It’s an extra food source. People know that when they’re struggling, the pantry is always there.”
The pantry also has a pay it forward scheme so you can donate £5 to help someone else who is struggling more than you.
Natalie Rees, 43, of Grangetown was introduced to the pantry by a friend through their referral scheme, where two parties get their shopping for £2.50 instead of the usual £5.
She attends weekly, and tweets about her visits to make others aware of the pantry, uploading images of her produce to inspire others to attend.
Natalie said: “Apart from our rent, food is our biggest expense and the cost is rising, especially for those on lower incomes.
“My husband lost most of his business, catering business lunches, at the beginning of the pandemic. We lost income and had to tighten our belt on our monthly budget.
“In the last few months, with rising energy costs, it gets harder to find those savings, and having the pantry means we can get those store cupboard essentials that you need to see you through to payday as well as some treats like desserts and ready meals and some fresh fruit and veg.
“The amount and the quality of food that we get is also amazing. We don’t usually buy branded goods so picking up Alpro desserts or Stokes marmalade that would cost £3.20 a jar when we usually pay 47p in Aldi also feels like a treat.
The pantry is available to anyone living in South Riverside, North Grangetown, or Canton.
Volunteer Jenny Lenny, 60, of Grangetown, has benefitted from the food club and is now volunteering.
“There are a lot of people who are unaware that there is a place like the Pantry where they can come to be helped,” she said.
“I found myself on a low income during Covid. A friend of mine told me about the pantry, and after coming a few times, I was asked if I wanted to work as a volunteer and I was happy to do it. I like giving back into the community.”
The bulk of the produce is supplied by Fareshare Cymru, a charity that redistributes excess food from across the food industry to fight hunger and tackle food waste.
Georgina Sullivan from FareShare Cymru said: “We are proud to support Wyndham Street Pantry. The food we supply is good quality, surplus food which we have rescued from going to landfill.
“Surpluses can arise for many reasons; for example, over-supplied, over-ordered, obsolete seasonal stock and goods with packaging issues.
“We support over 150 community organisations that help people with food insecurity, such as homeless hostels, school breakfast clubs, domestic violence refuges, older people’s lunch clubs, food banks, and hospices.
“We couldn’t survive without our volunteers helping us do everything from inputting stock, sorting food, and driving the food to our members.”
Project coordinator, Grant Cockerill, 57, of Penarth said: “I think it’s really important that people have the chance to get good food and save waste. It’s great for the volunteers and the members. People are getting good food and feel connected somehow.
“As a country and as a world, we need to sort out what we are doing with food waste. Just in Wales, there are 600,000 tons a year, and initiatives like this sort out a twelfth of that.”
