Carla – Volunteer

Meet Carla, a former chef who started volunteering with FoodCycle during the pandemic, to use her skills for good in the community.

How long have you been volunteering with FoodCycle and what’s your role?

I’ve been volunteering with FoodCycle for four-and-a-half years now.

I started at FoodCycle Byker and then I went to FoodCycle Felling to be part of the team there during lockdown. Then when I went back to work, I started going to Foodcycle Walker. I’ve bounced around volunteering at a lot of FoodCycle projects in the North, as and when I can fit it in!

What motivated you to start volunteering with FoodCycle?

I don’t have much family. It’s just been me and my dad for the past 17 or 18 years. My dad is one of the reasons I got into volunteering, because he ended up being homeless when he was very young, I think he was about 11 or 12, and he relied heavily on food banks when he was on the streets, so it made me a lot more aware.

When I needed something to fill my time, I just thought, what better way to give back than to something that is quite personal for my family, really. I was a chef for 11 years working in restaurants before I do what I do now. I was furloughed in the pandemic, and I had the skills and the time, so I thought what better way give back?

I Googled ‘cheffing and volunteering’ in the area, and I came across FoodCycle. I really liked the idea of it being a community meal rather than a food bank. The idea of not knowing what food you are going to get as a volunteer was quite fun too.

What were your first impressions of volunteering at a FoodCycle meal?

Amazing. Everyone was just absolutely lovely, very kind, very helpful. Everyone was so friendly, it was a really nice environment to go into, despite it being lockdown at the time. I grew up in Walker and Byker, so to be able to go back to the places I grew up and help people there, it was pretty nice.

Has volunteering with FoodCycle made a difference in your life?

Yes, it has, absolutely. It gives me a sense of purpose. It’s given me an outlet for my cooking skills and made me feel better that I’m not wasting them.

It’s helped my mental health as well, because I enjoy it. I benefit from it probably as much as the guests do. It’s given me more confidence too. I feel like I can relate to some of the people who come along.

It’s like a little escape for me. It’s a bit of a selfish thing, I just think why wouldn’t I use my skills to help people – and they help me too, I learn a lot from the guests.

It’s helped me in my career too – I now work as a volunteer co-ordinator for another food surplus charity, and that’s thanks in part to my experience with FoodCycle, so it’s all come full circle.

Do you feel you’re making a difference in your community through FoodCycle?

Yes. Massively. A lot of the guests who come in are very vulnerable and very isolated from the world, so for a lot of them it’s just about coming in having some form of conversation, and a healthy meal. It does make a massive difference to them.

I think people appreciate the lack of judgement coming into the meals, the socialisation and being able to have a conversation with people, and just being included.

Also having a balanced diet. A lot of the guests that I’ve met across the north say: ‘I’m eating better, I’m trying things that I’ve never tried before’. I think that’s more important than anything really because to have good food, it helps with everything.

What do you enjoy most about volunteering with FoodCycle?

It’s the enjoyment, of being part of the team of volunteers, and also knowing that the guests that we have rely on us, and they benefit from it, so that keeps me going back. It’s the environment of the volunteers and the guests.

It’s also a fun way for me to use the knowledge that I have, and being vegan, that was one of the main things that interested me at the start and kept me going. I think it’s something that a lot of people are uneducated about – what vegetables you can use and how to prep and cook them, so it just made sense for me as a long term vegan to volunteer with FoodCycle.

What would you say to someone who’s thinking about volunteering with FoodCycle?

Just do it, just give it a go! Just come along and just see how it goes, and I can guarantee you’ll have a nice time.