LOTS OF LOVELY GOODIES TODAY AT...

...the Community Fridge - and I was so pleased when I woke up this morning to see the sun was shining.  Many of our lovely customers queue up outside from about 9 o’clock in the morning and we don’t even open until 11 o’clock, so not to have to queue n the rain was a real blessing today!

As you can see, we had lots of goodies on offer, including KFC, which is bagged up in portions and it is surprising how many people take this from the freezer.  I guess if you are having a hard time managing, then it’s good if you can get some free takeaway stuff like this, especially for children. 

Looking around my collage, you will see lots of fruit and vegetables, and most of it went in a flash!  At the end of the morning, many of the large boxes were empty, which is great - and of course, stops it all from going into landfill.  

We are so grateful to the various supermarkets who contribute to this very worthwhile project;  without their donations we couldn't keep going.  Collections are made by various Church Members throughout the week and the Bags of Hope are delivered, sometimes by the same Church Members, but we could always do with more volunteers to lighten the load.

We also have disposable nappies for babies and often older ladies come in and ask about sanitary wear - which may sound strange, but if you are on a very tight budget, then to have to pay for these things at the expense of not having food, it makes life difficult.

You can see our lovely Meg at the bottom left of my collage, and she is holding two large boxes - one of chocolates and one of shortbread biscuits, part of a large consignment of “Amnesty boxes and packages” which came from several Slimming World Classes.  Well done to the leader, Sharon, who asked if we could use them at the Community Fridge and also to all those in the classes who would rather give these things away than jeopardise their weight loss.  Many of these will be put into the Bags of Hope that go out every week to families who are finding it hard to eke out their money to buy not just the essentials, but also some of the treats in life, which we all enjoy having from time to time.

Last but not least in the middle is a photograph of two of our smiling ladies - Heather and Vicki - who not only help to manage the whole scheme, apply for the grants and do much of the admin, but even dress the same!  We almost thought they were going to burst into song and serenade us with "Two of a Kind"!   These and several others keep the volunteers’ spirits up and are always there to encourage us when “the going gets tough” for us too, as sometimes the volunteers find it difficult to hear the stories of those who are struggling.   

Being part of this group is amazing and we are so grateful to Heather, on the left, for the way she heads up the whole Team.  We probably don’t say it enough, but THANKS HEATHER - we couldn’t do it without you!