Parish Cake Autumn 2020

newsbites
News
and views from
Cranbrook and Sissinghurst
Queen’s Award for
Nourish Foodbank
NOT ONLY is the Tunbridge Wells charity Nourish a
lifeline for so many who find themselves facing food
poverty but it is also the recipient of the Queen’s
Award for Voluntary Service, the highest honour that
can be given to a UK group.
The award was first created in 2002 to
commemorate the Queen’s Golden Jubilee and each
year the recipients are announced on 2 June - the
anniversary of the Queen’s coronation.
Nourish is run by more than 60 volunteers ranging
from 16 to 70 and has provided 63,126 meals during
the past year. Over 7,000 people, more than half of
them children in the borough, including Cranbrook,
have needed to call on Nourish for help. With the
Covid-19 pandemic, that number is set to rise.
Dawn Stanford, Nourish’s operations manager,
said: “We are over the moon with getting the award.
I am delighted for all the volunteers who do such
a wonderful job. Myself and a colleague have been
invited to Buckingham Palace in May for a garden
party and I have already bought my hat!” Nourish is
one of 230 charities to be recognised by the Queen,
for outstanding voluntary service to their local
community. Mignon Brian
Foodbanks are not self-referring. If you
are facing food poverty, contact your
GP, Citizens Advice, DWP, local clergy
or health visitor and ask for a foodbank
voucher. Don’t go hungry – there is help available.
Nourish Tunbridge Wells: 01892 548892
www.nourishcommunityfoodbank.org.uk
St Dunstan’s Church, Cranbrook:
ann.pollington@btinternet.com
St Theodore’s RC, Cranbrook: 01580 713364
The Parish Cake would like to send out a special thank you
to the parishioners of St. Theodore’s Church who tirelessly
collect and donate to the Nourish Foodbank every week, and
have done so for the past seven years! In 2013, St. Theodore’s
also adopted Nourish as their main charity. Your kindness and
recognition of food poverty means so much to so many.
for help
Hawkhurst Pioneers a
Local Community Fridge
DO YOU have food in your fridge
that is about to go out of date and
you know you won’t get a chance to
eat? You are not alone. The average
family in the UK throws away
approximately £810 worth of food
each year. The food sector in the UK,
including supermarkets, destroys
an astonishing £3 billion worth of
unsold food each year.
Food poverty is on the rise, yet
tonnes of food are being wasted. So
how can we get the food that would
normally be discarded, into the
hands of those who would use and
need it?
The Hawkhurst community have
helped to solve that very problem.
The first community fridge in the
local area was launched on the 29
June. The volunteers that run the
fridge are food hygiene trained,
and the premises is registered,
insured and abides by the stringent
guidelines of the UK-wide
Community Fridge Network. At this
time there are around 50 community
fridges scattered across the country.
What is a community fridge?
It is a fridge for the local community
and shops to donate and/or share
food that would normally go to
waste.
Where is the community fridge?
The entrance of the new Green Shop
on Rye Road, Hawkhurst.
When is it open? Monday to
Saturday 9:30 to 16:00.
Can anyone use it? Yes! Just open
the fridge and take what you need.
How do I donate to the fridge?
Simply go to the fridge and pop your
unwanted, still in date, food in!
The Community Fridge is quite
simply a great place for the locals
to connect to their community
while being able to access nutritious
food. The fridge is also helping the
environment by reducing waste
with the added bonus of helping
people to save money. For more
information please visit www.
hawkhurstcommunitycentre.co.uk or
email hawkhurstcommunityfridge@
gmail.com Mignon Brian
24 Parish Cake • Autumn 2020