If I am completely honest with you, I haven’t made that much of an effort to make friends here locally. It comes with a certain ex-expat weariness that transient friend making brings – mostly because I know that we are not staying in Cambridge for much longer. Plus, there’s always the slightly lazy certainty that having school aged children brings – knowing that you are pretty much guaranteed to meet others anyway. Beyond that, I haven’t really made much of an effort to delve deeper into the Cambridge community. Typically, doing so helps me feel more settled. I usually get involved in some group or another, from book groups, International groups and the obligatory PTA (I have definitely done my time there!!) wherever we happen to live in the world, but here, I have been quite sloth like in my attempts. I can only put it down to adjusting to being back, and conserving my energy for for our new community, when we eventually find the right house.
I haven’t been 100% lazy though, a local friendly person (I am not a complete hermit!) recently introduced me to Foodcycle, and mentioned how they were always on the look out for volunteers (I suggest you pop over to her blog for a read – she describes this wonderful charity’s work much better than I can!)… If you haven’t heard of them, they are an award winning charity whose vision is a society where no-one is lonely or hungry. They aim to strengthen communities by bringing people together around a healthy meal; to encourage friendships by creating spaces for people from all backgrounds to have fun together; to improve nutrition and reduce hunger by cooking healthy meals for those in need, and to change attitudes about food and cooking with surplus ingredients that would otherwise end up in landfill thereby helping the environment at the same time. That all sounds pretty perfect doesn’t it? I couldn’t really dream up an imaginary organisation better suited for the UK… So, spurred on by the sight of many a homeless person on Cambridge’s bitterly cold streets this winter, I plucked up a bit of courage and signed up to help out with Christmas lunch…
And that’s how I ended up reprising the waitressing days of my youth – just without any pay (happily), no grumpy bosses (thankfully!), and no partners in crime encouraging me to eat spoonfuls of cold sticky toffee sauce out of the containers as one of my closest friends used to (kind of sad about that really, but hygiene levels are very strict for obvious reasons!). Instead, I found a bunch of like minded friendly folk who I automatically felt like I had common ground with through our collective act of giving up a chunk of time to help. Add to that the fact that it was a couple of days before Christmas, and we had the start of a pretty lovely atmosphere right there.
Us serving types set up tables for around 60 people in no time (with the option of adding more places should more people turn up) as the kitchen was a hive of activity preparing a gorgeous Christmas themed lunch (menus are drawn up the night before once donations are collected). While they finished cooking, we decided to go and let people know a bit about Foodcycle, whilst finding good homes for part of a mass donation of perfectly good eggs that the kitchen couldn’t make use of in time for the holidays (there are only so many pavlovas you can make!). Definitely one of the more bizarre ways I have initiated chatting to people, but fun all the same. Plus, it gave us the opportunity to invite a few more people to lunch!
Once the doors opened at midday, the hall began to fill up with a cross section of Cambridge folk – from people without homes, to those with lonely homes, to elderly people who might not get the opportunity for a bit of a knees up and Christmas dinner otherwise, to foreign students who weren’t travelling home for Christmas and more besides, all 65 of them… It was probably one of the best Christmas parties I have ever been to, plus we got to have lunch too once we had finished dishing up four courses! I did have one surreal moment when I found myself ushered across to have a chat with an elderly German gentleman, and tried in my best (terrible) German to explain Christmas Crackers to him. I am sure he thought I was exactly that at the end of it!
If I told you that my feet were aching at the end of the day, that would have been an understatement (not helped by the fact that I had accidentally walked several miles before getting to the venue – I had been given a bag full of chocolates to donate by a lovely teacher relative, and had accidentally left them in my early morning coffee cafe and had to trundle back to get them – then back again!!). My calves ached in ways I didn’t think possible, and my back felt like how I imagined it would had I had done a stack of weight lifting… But, albeit in a 100% cheesy sounding way, my heart felt pleasantly full. Plus I had taken that leap in to the community, met a load of people from all walks of life, and to tell you the truth it probably did me as much good as it did the people we all made lunch for that day!
I loved helping out at Foodcycle, and will definitely be looking to volunteer again at some point, if not here then in our new location somewhere down the line.
A slightly different post for me, but if you happen to be relocating back to/inside the UK, or you’re just looking for something worthwhile to volunteer at, it’s a great way of meeting new people, as well as doing something for the greater good! I would really really recommend it…
Good for you – and lovely to hear about such a wonderful mix of people coming together for the lunch.
Thanks Trish! :) x
What an AMAZING way to help others!!
Thank you! (:
This is such a great way to help others! I did not know about them! I need to do something like that. Well done!
Thanks so much. I loved this organisation, benefits everyone involved! Thank you! (:
What a wonderful idea. Absolutely the sort of thing I’d love to get involved in. Lovely post :)
It is such a great idea! Thank you! x
I absolutely loved reading about your volunteering, especially at such a difficult time of year for so many people.
I volunteer at the local talking newspaper and find it a brilliant way to meet a cross-section of people.
I think I will look to see if there is anything like this in my area as I would love to help out!
I love the idea of volunteering for the speaking newspaper too! Thanks Tanya! :)
This looks like a very interesting volunteer activity. Who wouldn’t want to be part of something that’s trying to make a difference in the society.
Thanks Lauretta! (:
I love the idea of foodcycling. In this day and age we have far too much food waste x
We really do. Thanks Melanie! (: x
Foodcycle sounds like such a wonderway to help others. Hats off to you for volunteering and giving pleasure to so many people in doing so.
Thanks Nayna!
As a serial expat myself I can relate to what you’re describing. Sometimes it just doesn’t feel like worth making an investment of meeting new people when you know you’ll be moving soon. We’re moving schools soon, and it feels exactly the same!
It’s such a strange feeling isn’t it? Good luck with the school move! (:
I’ve not hear of FoodCycle before, but what a great idea. I’m going to look into it and see if there are any centres near me. Thanks for sharing :-)
Brilliant, I promise it’s really enjoyable! Thanks Rachel!
How lovely and heartwarming. And I love your photo of a Cambridge street – very Victoriana.
Thanks Rachel! (: x
Foodcycle sounds amazing. I would love to volunteer somewhere local to me. Helping others is such a wonderful thing to do and I’m sure you love it and get something rewarding out of it as well x
I thoroughly enjoyed it! Thanks Lynne! (:
That’s such a good thing you’re doing, I definitely need to do a bit more volunteering especially when it comes to helping those who are homeless x
It’s really worth looking to see if there’s a foodcycle nearby as you don’t have to commit week after week, just volunteer a day when you have time! (:
Oh how great of you to volunteer like that! What a great idea and it sounds as though you felt really fulfilled from it too!
Thanks Laura! (:
What an absolutely amazing thing for you to be part of. I love it. Wonderful organisation and just brilliant that you gave up time to help out.
Thanks Nichola. I will definitely be helping out when we move too! (:
Oh wow how amazing does Foodcycle sound and such a lovely way to get involved with the community becoming a volunteer with them.
Thanks Sarah! (:
What a really great cause! When i leave university I want to make sure I volunteer in my spare time to give something back x
Thanks Kayleigh! (:
Thank you so much for linking to my blog, Emma! :) So glad you had such a rewarding time at FoodCycle. It’s a brilliant, brilliant charity xx
Thanks for introducing me Emma! (: xx
That’s definitely an amazing idea, I volunteer in a foodbank every Saturday and the amount of food we get given is minimal, relying on donations, but this charity ..? It seems great, I’m so glad you took part and involved yourself into the community. Keep up the good work ☺️
Thanks Bethany! :)
This is lovely xx
Thanks Spud x
What a lovely thing to do. It sound so like the organization plays a fantastic role in the community. I’m off to read about them now.
Thanks Tara! (: x
What a lovely post! Well done for giving up your time and it sounds like it was well worthwhile.
Thanks Jennifer! (: