[C]ommunity groups are being invited to get a taste of a new food charity coming to Cumbria.
The Food Redistribution Centre, run by social business Recycling Lives, is being expanded across the county to provide fresh food and goods to charitable organisations.
The Centre is committed to tackling food poverty and reducing food waste. Part of the national FareShare network, it takes surplus goods from food suppliers and retailers – which would have been destined for landfill – to distribute to charities and community groups.
Now, as it works to establish three new bases across Cumbria, an event is being held for potential members of the scheme, taking place at the Rheged Centre, Penrith, next Friday [September 29th]. For just £25 a week, members – known as Community Food Members (CFMs) – are guaranteed regular collections of a range of fresh, frozen and ambient goods.
Groups interested in joining the scheme will learn about membership, benefits and the impact of the Food Redistribution Centre on communities across the North West.
Jeff Green, manager of the Food Redistribution Centre, said: “While we provide food to groups, our work is about more than just food – by providing these goods our CFMs can then support people with education, employment, health, homelessness, finances, family and much more, and also invest their often-scarce resources in other areas.
“We’re looking forward to supporting groups across Cumbria in this way. We hope people will come along to learn more and be inspired by our work next Friday.”
The Centre – the Cumbria and Lancashire arm of national charity FareShare – will be opening Local Collection Points across Cumbria in the coming months. These will enable groups to collect quality and in-date goods to share with communities. In Lancashire, the Centre works with groups including community cafes, school breakfast clubs and food banks.
Since its launch in October 2015, it has distributed more than 1,000,000 meals, diverting more than 430 tonnes of goods from landfill in doing so. Working with 100 charitable organisations, including Shap Primary School and Orton Primary School, it delivers the equivalent of 13,000 meals a week to feed around 5,000 people.
Emma Pomfret, headteacher at Orton CE School, said: “The food benefits all our children as well as our wider community, who are able to take surplus produce in return for a voluntary donation to school, meaning we can raise desperately needed funds.”
Anne Maud, headteacher at Shap CE Primary, added: “[Produce from the Centre has] an impact for all our children. Our junior children now also enjoy fresh fruit at playtimes, as the government only provides free fruit for infants. We have also used the food to do cooking activities in classes and after school club.”
The event will take place at The Rheged Centre in Penrith, from 10am to 11.30am, on Friday September 29th, hosted by The Westmorland Family and Business in the Community along with the Food Redistribution Centre’s parent charity, Recycling Lives.
For more information or to register, please visit www.eventbrite.co.uk and search ‘Towards Zero Food Poverty in Cumbria’, or click HERE.
