Author: Sarah Kakadellis

Marylebone FoodCycle: this is not my last goodbye

So here I am writing my ultimate blog for Charity Insights at the end of my internship at Marylebone FoodCycle. It has been a month full of new encounters, impactful experiences and blissful moments shared with the people I have met on my volunteering journey. I have written my last report and sent the last few emails as part of my project, and it is now time to reflect upon my experience.

Working for Marylebone FoodCycle at St. Paul’s Church allowed me to get an insight into what working for the charity and social sector is like; it gave me a deeper understanding of the dynamics involved in such organisations. I loved being able to take part in multiple aspects of FoodCycle, beyond my own project, as not only did it show me the role of FoodCycle from different angles but it also triggered new contacts with people from incredibly diverse and fascinating backgrounds. Because people truly are the key in life experiences. It is through the encounters you make that you learn most about ourselves and about the world we live in.

Leaving St. Paul’s was made easier after Alex, my supervisor and one of the hub leaders, Svetla, took me out to the local pub as a last goodbye. I think this underlines the nature of social charity work itself; because you are so involved with other human beings, your work inevitably becomes more humane. This is why I really recommend the Charity Insights scheme to every student at Imperial, and volunteering in general. I am so grateful of Imperial College for supporting what I believe to be an essential part of our education. It has allowed me not only get an appreciation of the sector and develop my skills, but also apply and share them for a critical social and environmental cause.

I will keep it to here, as I believe the most important has been expressed. Thank you for reading me and feel free to approach me whenever you fancy a chat about FoodCycle, nutrition or food waste (:

Enjoying my Pimm’s on a glorious Friday at the end of my internship with Alex and Svetla.

 

 

 

Marylebone FoodCycle: the journey continues

As most – if not all – precious participants of Charity Insights reflected in their blog posts, I  too cannot believe three weeks have already flown by. I have learned and shared so much on my ongoing journey in the volunteering and non-for-profit sector. Since this post is meant for the reader, whatever brings you to read these words, to get a glimpse of my placement, I thought I’d share the most important and decisive moments I have had so far.

The key week was the second week, which involved lots of networking events where I had the opportunity the exchange thoughts with people from various backgrounds, ranging from hotel managers to social workers. On Tuesday, my colleagues and I attended the local Networking Lunch at the London Business School. This event takes place every other month and allows charities and businesses in the neighbourhood to meet and discuss potential challenges, partnerships or simply browse new ideas. I talked to several local charities with a similar target audience to that of my Wellbeing Project (the development of a new Women Cookery Club at St. Paul’s Church) and got very positive feedback and support.

The following day, Wednesday, was particularly challenging for me, since I had been asked to attend a formal meeting of hotel managers on Baker Street on behalf of Marylebone FoodCycle to discuss ways by which hotels could reduce food waste and support our organisation. It goes without saying that I felt very out of place as soon as I got to the Baker Street Quarter Partnerships headquarters, being only 21 years old. However, I was also thrilled to have such a professional experience and I am grateful for my supervisor Alex to have put her trust in me. The meeting went very well and it was insightful to meet people from the business world and to try to bridge two very different visions.

Both Wednesday afternoons were spent cooking for the Marylebone FoodCycle dinner, where I have met wonderful and passionate people from all over London and beyond, uniting for a great cause, our community meal. The first Wednesday was unexpectedly hectic since not only were we cooking for about 50 people for our own dinner, but we were also providing 100 extra portions for a mosque supporting victims of the Grenfell Tower. A Christian organisation cooking at the West London Synagogue for a mosque, what a better message of love and tolerance could we ask for?

Food Waste Heroes: here’s Svetla (one of the hub leaders) and me collecting food for the meal preparation !

On Friday, I attended a symposium on dairy and health as part of my focus on nutrition for the project. Here again, it was a great way of meeting people from different backgrounds and sharing thoughts. Since then, I have been browsing the web for further nutritional information and project planning, exchanging emails with local charities to meet their community and get advice towards my project.

I will write more about that last bit in my final report, so stick around for that the last blog post !

Getting started: first week at Marylebone Food Cycle

It’s Friday afternoon and my first week at Marylebone FoodCycle is close to an end. As I write these words, upbeat music sets the tone at St. Paul’s Church, where Marylebone Food Cycle operates in joint collaboration. Not only a church but also a local community centre, St. Paul’s Church is constantly filled with a vibrant and diverse community, with events ranging from Nordic choirs and guitar lessons to Zumba classes and FoodCycle dinners. This has made St. Paul’s a place I would call home rather than a workplace. Located close to Church Street, it is a complete different London that I have come to experience so far, with a bustling street market and antique shops two steps away from Regent’s canal. A more ‘homy’ London is calling, away from the Georgian and Victorian South Kensington.

But let me introduce you to the charity, and to the project I am currently undertaking. Marylebone FoodCycle operates as a hub of FoodCycle , a community-based organisation whose mission it is bring the community together by tackling food waste and hunger. Food that is about to be thrown away is picked up and turned into nutritious meals that are served in local hubs – the Marylebone hub at St. Paul’s is served weekly every Wednesday at 6.30pm. As a foodie, but also passionate about environmental issues, such as food waste and social climate change, I could not have found better than FoodCycle. My project focuses on providing training and empowering local women, in particular mothers, in simple nutrition based on a sustainable food cycle and enhancing their social integration by creating new weekly cooking sessions. The project involves speaking to and researching the community’s current situation and with the help of a nutritionist expert develop the course of a new Cookery Club. This means ensuring the recipes align with the needs of the women taking part in the program and meeting their availability and personal preferences. As a Wellbeing Project, the goal is to promote both mental and physical health amongst the low-income population whilst ensuring a sustainable food waste cycle.

Research was the focus of this first week: getting to know the people in the team, but also the people for whom this project is aimed at. I have dived into governmental reports to research about the local community, walked around to get a feel of the area and am soon to start networking with other organisations to meet residents of the area for a more personal and tailored approach.  Stay tuned for the next post, which should be full of new meetings and fruitful discussions !

When a picture speaks a thousand words: sharing food for a healthier, greener and happier community.