The People’s Kitchen, celebrating 30 years of providing a unique service for the homeless and vulnerable people of Newcastle is gearing up for Harvest Festival time when much needed food donations from as far afield as north Northumberland, Hexham and County Durham as well as North and South Tyneside come into the charity’s warehouse in Newcastle.
Once the food arrives, a small army of volunteers sort it into food type, best before date and whether it’s fresh or tinned. The food is then matched with the menu for the particular day and dispatched to the People’s Kitchen for cooking and serving.
To supplement the huge amounts of tinned food donated, The People’s Kitchen encourage their volunteers and “friends” to help grow fruit and vegetables in their new allotment which is located on Tweed Street.
Recently, The Tweed Street Allotment Society opened its doors to the public for its second Open Day. The People’s Kitchen allotment moved to Tweed Street following closure of Nun’s Moor Allotments in April, last year. From the sale of fruit, vegetables, refreshments and bric-a-brac, £78 was raised to help fund the Kitchen.
The Tweed Street committee have welcomed The People’s Kitchen with enthusiasm and have shown great kindness and generosity. John Welsh, Team Leader, said,
“ We have been made most welcome by Tweed Street and our volunteers enjoy their time there. It’s amazing how much produce we can harvest. During the last season alone, 65lb of rhubarb, 175lb of potatoes, 40lb of cabbage, 11lb of turnip and 62lb of strawberry were among the variety of crops we have grown.”
To cope with the additional work that traditionally Harvest Festival time brings, the Kitchen is now looking for volunteers whose life and business skills can help the charity.
Chairman, Bob Eldridge is encouraging people to apply, especially those who may have recently retired or found that they need a new challenge in life to help them keep active and occupied.
“We all like to think that we’ve done something positive for others during our lives but volunteering for a role within The People’s Kitchen gives you a real challenge and the knowledge that you really have helped change someone’s life for the better.”
Currently there are vacancies at The People’s Kitchen for food servers, bid writers, a treasurer, support, events assistants and a charity manager.
Anyone who is interested in volunteering can see the latest vacancies at http://www.peopleskitchen.co.uk/current-roles/