Peter – Volunteer

Meet Peter, who at age 78 is one of FoodCycle’s longest serving volunteers – having first come to help at a community meal 15 years ago in 2011.

An accountant by profession, Peter is a regular cooking lead and hosting volunteer at the FoodCycle Finsbury Park community meal in London.

How did you come to be a volunteer with Food Cycle?

I saw an advert for volunteering with FoodCycle and for me it ticked all the boxes, I love cooking and I love the idea of putting something back to the community.

In the beginning, I was helping out at Kilburn which was probably the nearest to me, then one was set up in King’s Cross and I used to meet the City Harvest van outside Costco in Wembley and I would take the food to the project, at the back of King’s Cross station. We were there for about four years and we outgrew it. The maximum we could feed was about 40, so we then moved to Finsbury Park.

What were your first impressions when you came along to a FoodCycle meal to volunteer?

I loved it from the beginning. I enjoyed that I was working with a lot of young volunteers and I learnt a lot from them. I’ve always enjoyed cooking, since I was about seven. One of the pleasures is the increasing your knowledge of foods from different nationalities. The mix of the volunteers makes it different every week.

What difference has volunteering with FoodCycle made to your life?

It’s made a difference in a number of ways. I’ve learned an awful lot from the other volunteers. It’s actually helped me in my practice, in the way they communicate, and in the way they organise, it’s much more efficient than I would ever be. So I’ve gained a lot from that. I’ve made a lot of friends with the whole team at Finsbury Park, it’s opened a lot of avenues for me.

What motivates you to keep volunteering with FoodCycle each week?

FoodCycle has been my passion for nearly 15 years, as probably one of the oldest volunteers it truly keeps me young. Such lovely volunteers and guests I get inspired working with them. I get such a buzz when volunteering it keeps me young in mind and spirit.

I like the companionship, we’re very lucky, we have a very supportive and very nice guests. It gives me such a buzz so I don’t need any encouragement to come! It’s easy for me to get to, I have my travel pass and I get on the tube and I get up there. I’m usually there one of the first to open up.

I love cooking, but if they need help with hosting. I’m delighted to do that, wherever there’s a shortage, I will help.  When you get older, you are happy to sit and chat with the guests, which is one of the things that volunteers are encouraged to do, and I’m really happy to do that.

What would you say to others thinking about volunteering with FoodCycle?

The volunteering process is very easy and one of the good things about FoodCycle is it’s very flexible, so you don’t have to make any big commitments. If you know you’re free you can sign up, and you can choose where to volunteer, so it’s very flexible.

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

Yes. I know our guests get a great pleasure out of it, and they appreciate it. One of the things we aim at FoodCycle is to give our guests a fine dining experience, so we have flowers on the table, we serve them nice coffee when they arrive, and I think it does make a difference.

The majority of our guests are from the local estate, and they come for the companionship as well as the food. It’s a sign of the times that the need for our meals couldn’t be greater, as we have essential workers coming in now too, and we obviously delighted to serve them.

It gives people somewhere that they can feel safe, warm and they make friends as well. It’s really nice how they help each other. It restores one’s faith in humanity.