FoodCycle, a charity that works with local communities to provide food to those in need has opened in Acton. The charity will be providing a vegetarian meal using food that would otherwise go to waste for women being helped by the Happy Baby Community.
Every Monday in Acton, members of the local Happy Baby Community, which includes women that have fled from trafficking or violence, get a meal along with a safe space to talk.
Speaking to EALING.NEWS about opening in Acton, Alannah McGovern, regional manager, FoodCycle said: “The launch of our second FoodCycle Project in partnership with the Happy Baby Community charity was a great success.”
Ms McGovern added: “Our first meal in Acton saw our volunteers cook a selection of tasty food including cous cous with roast vegetables, potato salad, bruschetta, ravioli with tomato sauce and yogurt cake with peaches for 50 women and their children. We’re looking forward to the coming weeks and continuing to provide our weekly meals.”
Carly Shutes also from FoodCycle explained more about the charity and its work.
How do women apply to get your support, what is the process?
FoodCycle are working in partnership with The Happy Baby Community to provide weekly meals to the women and children they support. More information on referrals to Happy Baby Community can be found here https://www.happybabycommunity.org.uk/referrals
What inspired you to launch it in Acton?
We have been running meals in partnership with Happy Baby Community in Dalston for some time, due to their success they were keen for us to work with them at another one of their locations.
Do you run this in other parts of London or elsewhere?
FoodCycle has two Projects that run in partnership with Happy Baby Community (Dalston and Acton). These are only for people who are receiving support from the Happy Baby Community and isn’t open to the wider public. However, FoodCycle runs free weekly community meals in an additional 16 locations across London and these meals are open to anyone that needs them, no questions asked. There are 71 FoodCycle Projects across England and Wales and you can find your nearest location here https://foodcycle.org.uk/find-a-meal/
Who supplies the food and other products?
FoodCycle works with supermarkets, small independent grocery shops and markets to source perfectly edible surplus food in a safe and responsible way. We only reclaim fresh fruit and vegetables and we purchase extra ingredients such as dried foods and spices to make our meals as balanced and nutritious as possible.
Are you looking for volunteers to help in Acton and what can they do?
We have in-person volunteering roles across London, which includes hosting or cooking. For those who can’t volunteer in-person, we have a telephone volunteering role available where we make weekly calls to people across the country. You can find out about all our volunteer roles here – https://foodcycle.org.uk/volunteer-roles/
