Sarah’s Story

Sarah first heard about the Pantry through a leaflet from her child's school, where there had been an assembly about the Pantry. It seemed ideal, as finances had come under additional pressure due to the impact of Covid 19 on her work situation - she couldn’t work, but didn’t qualify for any of the support provided by the government.

Sarah is now one of our regular members, and her words below describe the impact the Pantry has had on her family.

"In these exceptional times, with the uncertainty of income from my self-employed work, and as a single parent, I have found the Oasis Pantry a lifeline and fantastic service. A service that, if it didn't exist, I would struggle to put nutritious food on the table for my family.

Through the generosity of consumable donations from the various sources, and with the wonderful welcome I receive each week, I don't know how I would have kept my financial head above water if the Pantry didn't exist.

The joy of walking through the door, not knowing what will be available that week, is great. Seeing other people walking out with bags laden full of such a range of products with smiles on their faces (bearing in mind that their eyes are smiling, whilst wearing face masks), and their grateful demeanours, is so good.

When I open my kitchen cupboards to fill with the items I have collected from the Pantry, knowing that it is affordable, it is such a relief.

I don't know what I would do without the Pantry. I am so very grateful to the team that make this happen."

75

Current Members

(Direct Beneficiaries)

131

Total number of beneficiaries

(including partners and children)

28

Number of volunteers Previous Make Lunch or Food Parcel volunteers

16 weeks

12 16

New volunteers

29

Average attendance since beginning of November

3,468kg

Total weight of food delivered

124kg

Average weight of food delivered weekly

Looking ahead in 2021

We expect membership to continue to grow through 2021, with a maximum anticipated membership of around 100 members. We will continue to develop our existing partnerships, and explore potential new partnerships.

In life beyond this stage of Covid-19, we can’t wait to open our community café, offering the opportunity to develop deeper relationships, and offer wrap-around support to our members. We’re already talking to several local organisations about how we can work together in this, and will use the “dignity in practice” approach to underpin this.

We’d like to develop a network of charitable supporters – schools, churches, local business - who can help to support and promote the pantry in a variety of different ways.

We’ll be looking at what our members tell us would be useful for them, whether that’s additional provision of, for example, perishable staples such as eggs and milk, or particular skills development such as cooking lessons. We’re looking to develop a standard format for recipe cards, which we can then share with the Affordable Food Network so we can create a joint bank of recipes for all groups and their members or clients to access.