So I’m starting this blog a bit late in the day, four weeks into the Leys community larder becoming operational, but I wanted to record how the Leys larder got set up.

I contacted FareShare in summer 2019 with the intention of buying more food from FareShare for the Leys community fridge.  Claire Hughes from Sofea (the apprentice training arm of FareShare) contacted me back, suggesting that we might want to set up a community larder instead.  If we supplied a venue and volunteers, Sofea would supply everything else: food, admin, the works.

Between us, we visited the Didcot larder – the first in the country – twice in July.  We were very impressed by it, and made a little video about it:

Basically it’s a food club.  People pay £8.66 per month direct debit (£17.32 for a family membership), and in return they get access to a cafe, children’s play area, a couple of annual events… and up to 10 (20 for families) items of non-perishables per week, plus free fruit and vegetables.  The food comes from FareShare, who in turn get it as surplus food from wholesalers.  The aim is to reduce food waste, build some community spirit, and get food to peole who can use it.  Perfect for Blackbird Leys.