Food charity in 'urgent need' of volunteers in East Anglia
FoodCycle is struggling to meet demand in the region
Last updated 3rd Feb 2022
A food charity, which operates in towns across East Anglia, is struggling to meet demand in our region following a drop in the number of volunteers and a spike in the number of people attending community meals.
FoodCycle provide meals and food collection services in towns and cities across the country, for anyone who might otherwise go hungry.
The organisation is entirely run by volunteers, who prepare the food and host community meals. Volunteers also run a 'Check in and Chat' service to tackle loneliness.
Speaking to Greatest Hits Radio, Lucy Self from FoodCycle said the charity is in "urgent need" of volunteers.
"We have some amazing volunteers that are already working with us and we're very grateful for them, but because of some of the issues that we've all faced in the last 12 months, our volunteer numbers are fluctuating, so we're really looking for anyone that can help."
FoodCycle operate across several locations in East Anglia, including Chelmsford, Cambridge, Norwich, Clacton-on-Sea and Peterborough.
In 2021, FoodCycle volunteers in East Anglia cooked 119,068 meals, saved almost 33,000 tonnes of surplus food and donated 750 hours.
In addition to a drop in volunteer numbers, Lucy told us the charity is seeing a spike in the number of people attending the weekly meals.
"Anything that affects communities in terms of food poverty is something that's going to affect us in terms of numbers because we are a community service and food poverty is one of the things we tackle.
"In terms of our guest numbers increasing, that's going to be because there's more need in the community usually."
While they're welcoming anyone to apply, the charity aims to increase the uptake of retired volunteers, as Sam Disney, East Anglia Regional Manager explains:
“Only around 3% of our FoodCycle volunteers are retired yet we’ve found with the combination of more time at their disposal and a wealth of skills and experience, many of our retirees have become key to the successful running of our Projects.
Volunteering with FoodCycle gives our volunteers the chance to help strengthen communities and also boosts self-confidence, offers new skills and connects them with people from all ages and backgrounds.”
To find out more about FoodCycle, including how to volunteer, see their website.