Members of Porthleven WI were invited recently to visit the Helston and The Lizard Foodbank, based at The Mustard Seed in Helston, to hand over the monies they raised at a recent cake stall.
Wendy, Alli and Marie from Porthleven WI were warmly welcomed and given a fascinating look into how the foodbank operates.
It opens on Monday, Wednesday and Friday every week plus cover for emergencies. Food is collected from the donation points in local supermarkets, brought in, weighed, date checked and sorted onto the shelves.
Volunteers then have the lists of food boxes needed and these are made up to order. They may be for one person, two people, a family, etc. Dried and tinned goods are included as well as UHT milk and fruit juice, plus a voucher to take to a local greengrocer to pick up fresh fruit and vegetables.
Consideration is also given to how the person receiving the box will be using it. If they are in a hotel room with just a kettle or living in a tent, then the box is adapted to these situations. Packet soups, instant noodles, custards, Angel Delight, cans with ring pulls that don’t require a tin opener (although Mustard Seed can provide a tin opener if needed) mean no-one misses out.
Everything accepted by the foodbank is weighed in. The boxes are weighed as they go out and any waste is also recorded.
Wendy, Alli and Marie say it was a lovely and informative morning. They handed over the cheque and left feeling very inspired on how they can help with this brilliant, local charity.
More information about supporting your local foodbank is available via the Trussell Trust.