West Somerset Food Cupboard recently welcomed Jennifer Duke, The High Sheriff of Somerset, as it opened up for local families with its regular Tuesday afternoon Local Pantry session.

Jennifer met volunteers who prepare and stock the Pantry with fresh, chilled, frozen and non-perishable food that would otherwise be wasted, before they then help Pantry members collect their produce for a weekly fee of £3.50.

One of the members shared that she had started making new, delicious recipes for her family, using the locally sourced fruit and vegetables, and that she had been able to make food go further by batch cooking.

West Somerset Food Cupboard is supported by generous local allotment growers and producers from Porlock, Dunster, Minehead and the Good Vibe Veg project in Horner as well as local village shops and supermarkets in the area. Key objectives from Jennifer’s role are to promote local Somerset produce and focus on the issue of child food poverty, so the visit was an ideal opportunity to see how the charity, based at the Parish Church of St. Michael the Archangel in Alcombe, puts this into action.

Jennifer also saw how the emergency food cupboard is organised throughout every week to provide non-perishable food parcels of different types: Family food boxes, small household/couple food bags, a food bag for an individual with cooking facilities and a food bag for an individual with no cooking facilities (apart from access to hot water).

Ali Sanderson, Project Co-ordinator said “We really enjoyed meeting Jennifer and discussing how we can work together. It’s important people are aware they can obtain our food parcels through local agencies such as the West Somerset Advice Bureau, Village Agents and Home-Start West Somerset and many more, at the same time as receiving their specialist support. The West Somerset Food Cupboard charity is actively exploring its response to the inevitable increase in demand due to the cost of living crisis. Readers can find out more about the services offered and how to access them on our website: www.wsfoodcupboard.org.uk .”

Jennifer was keen to see how she can work alongside the charity and commented “I found the visit very helpful in understanding how the West Somerset Food Cupboard is alleviating food poverty and supporting families in finding ways to become more resilient.  

“They are also addressing the problem of food waste, and ensuring they are ready to support local families as we move into a challenging winter with an energy crisis and period of high inflation.  

“All of this will be extremely painful for our communities.”