Transcript
Toby: So, one of the really significant things in the community is, here, at St Augustine’s Church, the Gussie’s Kitchen Pantry Shop. Here with one of the founders, Councillor Lisa Blakemore. Lisa, just tell us what we actually have here at Gussie’s Pantry.
Lisa: So, it’s the next step along from emergency food provision, we are a member-only shop. You can come along with a referral, join, and you can get to do your shop and you get to choose your items, we do fridge freezer stuff, we do fruit and vegetables, so we have a nice nutritionally balanced diet for the people that come.
Toby: Fantastic, and initially you had the community kitchen set up where people used to come together and have a meal once a week. Post-Covid it turned into the pantry shop idea. You also rely heavily on volunteers don’t you, how many people actually are supporting this project?
Lisa: Just over forty, very valuable, volunteers all doing different jobs: delivery driving, picking up donations stacking all the shelves, making sure we’ve got all our paperwork up to date, and interviewing all the members. So many different roles but all valuable.
Toby: What’s the difference between this and a foodbank?
Lisa: So, with a foodbank you’re there when you have no money and you’re in a crisis situation and this is the next step along so it give you back a bit more dignity, it gives you choice, we charge eight pound per shop, and they can come along and for that they get around about forty pounds worth of shopping.
Toby: All I can say from my perspective is, it’s really busy, great to see the volunteers also supporting people more broadly and great to see as local councillors, you, and the other councillors here, Councillors Flood and Miles, supporting this really important initiative.
Lisa: Yes, that’s right. Yeah, it’s definitely a community effort and it’s voluntary hours as well. But, being a councillor does help to reach out a bit more and help and support members a lot more as well.
Toby: Thanks very much, great to see what’s going on here.