A DAY IN THE LFE OF A VOLUNTEER
The Felix Project warehouse
As part of our support to the organisations doing great work to help tackle food poverty in the UK we are gaining first hand experience of what is involved to ensure they run smoothly and efficiently.
For many organisations volunteers are just as important as the financial donations they receive and without them they just couldn’t operate so we were more than happy to visit The Felix Project once more and do a shift at their Poplar warehouse.
After our productive and enjoyable day volunteering in the Felix Kitchen I recently signed up for a shift in their warehouse to see first hand how the vast quantities of food they distribute begin the journey to the many organisations that the Felix Project deliver too each day.
For such a complex process the atmosphere amongst the staff and other volunteers was extremely relaxed and friendly which appears to be the norm for all the various departments we have worked with and employees we have spoken to.
Hi-vis jacket, gloves and sturdy shoes are provided and then it’s time to get cracking packing trolleys and pallets with a huge variety of great produce from the ambient and chilled stores.
Each organisation has a sheet with the list of their requirements and it’s the pickers job to visit the various sections and stack them on the pallet. The items in trays stack on top of each other but with other items it’s a bit like reverse Jenga building up the tower and ensuring it won’t topple.
Ticking the items off as you go is surprisingly satisfying and once the sheet is completed it’s time to park trollies in the chiller store labelled up with the correct organisation details and then back to the in-tray to move on to the next.
One of the great aspects of the deliveries is that the food is tailored to the desires of the receiving organisation so rather than get a random selection of food they know in advance what is likely to arrive and will suit the needs of those they in turn distribute to.
The food ranged from trays of potatoes, broccoli, cauliflowers, onions and mangoes to large sacks of couscous , packs of soya milk and bags of chilled meat.
On the hottest day of the year, when you saw ‘chilled’ written on the sheet it brought a smile to your face as you knew you could cool down in the chiller unit for a minute or two.
As the shift drew to a close there was just one sheet left on the tray and with no one else within range I snapped it up ! A two sheeter, requiring double pallets, and amongst the items six huge bags of cous-cous to load up as part of the assembled food cube. Twenty minutes later it was complete after some sound advice about pallet stacking from a regular and a hand doing the shrink wrapping from a friendly face from Ernst and Young, on a corporate volunteering day. My shift was done and, if I say so myself, it was a job well done. (apart from the two sacks of cous-cous that I had split and covered the floor in while trying to get on the pallet!) But overall another fantastic and satisfying few hours.
As always the staff and volunteers have nutritious freshly cooked food and drinks available in the canteen which provides the perfect opportunity to meet other volunteers and find out why they are there, some corporate groups and some individuals but all there for the same reason to do a little bit to ensure that the Felix does its magnificent work as efficiently as possible.
So come on sign up, it’s just a few enjoyable and rewarding hours of your day that I can assure you you won’t regret and you will leave, rightly, proud that you have contributed to such a worthy cause.
A bit worried about going on your own? Give me a shout and I will happily accompany you whether warehouse or kitchen or even driving/assisting one of the delivery vans.
Any companies out there wishing to participate as a group get in touch directly with Felix and they will gladly get you signed up I’m sure.
To enquire about volunteering
FIND OUT MORE ABOUT THEIR WORK HERE
The Felix Project
MORE FELIX EXPERIENCES
