Each Thursday our big white van is loaded up at the store with boxes containing all the goods we might need for parcels. These are then transported to Kidlington Baptist Church. One team of volunteers will then pack up parcels needed at our other centres (Woodstock and Chipping Norton).
On the Friday we will have all the storage boxes out in the main hall so there is easy access to everything we need. As well as these storage boxes containing the “basics” we will have tables offering extras (on a controlled “help-yourself-basis). This includes fresh fruit, veg, bread and cakes brought to us by the Oxford Food Bank and a selection of household products, toiletries etc
Then a volunteer can make up a suitable parcel when any visitor arrives with a voucher. This might be for a single person or a family, perhaps with young children, so what goes into a parcel varies accordingly. While the parcel is being assembled we offer the visitor and any family members the chance of a sit-down and cup of tea/coffee etc.
This is also the time when local people call in to deliver their donated food, so we also have volunteers sorting and recording all new stock.
At the end of the session, everything is packed up and returned to the store. There, more work is done to put everything away in its proper place, sorted by date and ready for next time. We also update the stock records so we know exactly what we have available (and its shelf-life). We can then use money donated to us to top-up those items which are getting low.