Right now, 14 million people in the UK are living in food insecurity; 4.3 million of these are children, with 79,000 children living in poverty in Nottinghamshire alone.
These numbers are climbing as the cost of living continues. People are having to make difficult choices – whether to pay the rent, the weekly childcare costs or do the food shop.
FareShare Midlands redistributes fresh, nutritious surplus food which would otherwise have gone to waste. Direct from supermarkets and farms, the food arrives into the warehouses, where it is sorted and stored by a dedicated team of staff and volunteers. The food is then redistributed to around 650 charities and community groups across the Midlands – the FareShare Midlands Members. These Members including community centres, homeless shelters and children’s breakfast clubs who are supporting families battling poverty and hunger.
The Members turn the food into affordable shopping, food parcels and delicious meals for vulnerable people. Last year FareShare Midlands delivered enough food to create 11 million meals. As well as food, the Members provide vital support to vulnerable people facing challenging circumstances, including advice in respect of benefits, housing and debt.
To continue this vital work, FareShare Midlands needs passionate people with spare time and a desire to help, to sign up as volunteers at our Nottingham depot. Volunteers perform essential tasks, such as driving the delivery vans and packing the food in the warehouses. FareShare Midlands food reaches over 60,000 people every week – the charity simply could not do this without the hard work of dedicated volunteers.
Volunteer Lindsay said: ‘Volunteering gets you up and focused to start the day. It gives you structure which I find helps after big life changes like retirement or bereavement etc. Helping out at FareShare, you know your little bit helps those who need it (it’s not lost in admin) and they are a really friendly bunch and SO well organised (a few public organisations could learn a lot!) So be brave and join the fun!’
FareShare Midlands Chief Executive, Simone Connolly, said: ‘As the festive period approaches, we will strive to support families in need across Nottingham by redistributing as much surplus food as we possibly can. There is no end in sight for the cost of living crisis and we are seeing unprecedented need. We urgently need kind people to volunteer with us – by lending a hand for just a few hours a week, you can make a massive difference.’
To find out more about becoming a volunteer please call 07512 570560, or email volunteer@faresharemidlands.org.uk. To read about FareShare Midlands, please visit https://faresharemidlands.org.uk/