HLP’s Community Pantry Update
When we received an annual report from our community partners Healthy Living Platform on their Community Pantry (Tuesdays, 10-1pm, £5 a week) we were blown away and thought it was too good not to share! Enjoy these amazing stats and touching stories from one of our most important projects:
The pantry has received and redistributed 4.5 tonnes of surplus food since January 2023
There are 8 regular volunteers, who between them have donated 1,150 hours of time
3,000 individuals have received food since January, reaching an average of 42 households weekly
Pantry visits are up 59% year on year
The pantry has saved customers a cumulative £12,000, or £384 per household in 2023
Five volunteer training sessions have been hosted
External involvement has included Lambeth Health and Wellbeing Bus, Indoamerican Refugee and Migrant Organisation offering general advice and Clear Community Web providing community tech support
The pantry has brought together two sisters who, because of a family argument, stopped speaking and lost touch with each other. They were reunited after 8 years, whilst in the pantry queue. They now meet every Tuesday at the pantry and have lunch afterwards at the HLP lunch club in MFN café
An elderly gentleman would come silently into the pantry waiting area, sitting by himself without engaging with anyone. When we started serving lunches, he started to stay and eat alone. One day, about 3 months ago, another regular joined him, brought him over a coffee, she did most of the talking. After a few weeks they started doing crosswords and other word games from the paper together. Now other people join in, shouting out suggestions. Sometimes now, the gentleman will even get coffees and teas for other people, but he says with a smile he prefers others do it for him.
