Lancashire charity which feeds communities is seeking volunteers

The Recycling Lives Charity has delivered millions of meals to communities in the past year, helping charities and community groups to feed people struggling with the cost of living crisis.

Its Food Redistribution Centre, run in partnership with national charity FareShare, takes surplus stock from supermarkets and suppliers to deliver to community groups, charities and schools.

Its work helps groups to feed communities while also reducing food waste, preventing thousands of tonnes of food going to the tip.

It is appealing for new volunteers to join its team and is also recruiting for a manager as a full time role.

The centre, based in warehouse facility on Preston’s Red Scar Industrial Estate, needs support for full day, morning (8am to midday) or afternoon (1pm to 5pm) shifts on weekdays.

The roles needed to be filled include driving and delivering goods, including driving vans to deliver items to Local Collection Points in Cumbria.

Recycling Lives Charity said this requires a full driving license and a CPC license would be of particular value;

Other roles include selecting food and goods – ensuring each group receives the right items for their target group; admin roles such as supporting logistics – taking accurate records of goods into the centre, using operational systems; rotating stock; and allocating goods.

Volunteer coordinator Vivienne Ashurst said: “Our volunteers are an essential and highly valued part of our operation, each bringing different skills and experiences to deliver our vital service.

“In return for their time we support each volunteer to enjoy their own benefits from the experience, whether that’s supporting job seekers to develop transferable skills or ensuring retired professionals can use their experience to help communities.

"Volunteering can be a transformative experience for anyone – it is a way to develop skills or meet new people as well as give back to your community and help others.

“We’re hoping to hear from anyone who’d like to help us to feed people most in-need in these challenging times.”

The Food Redistribution Centre supports more than 125 groups across Lancashire and Cumbria, including grassroots charities delivering ‘meals on wheels’ services to the elderly and school breakfast clubs supporting families in need.

To find out more, please contact: [email protected] or 07387 015425

The Centre is also advertising for a new Manager, seeking a highly personable and organised individual with management experience. To view the job advert, click here.