Food charity ‘desperately short’ of van drivers

Staff members and volunteers transport extra food to East Anglian charities.

 

A food charity that was hit by illness is pleading in a “desperate” way for van drivers.

The Eastern base of the UK-wide organization is located in Ipswich.

According to Sue Stenson, volunteer manager at FareShare East Anglia, they experienced “multiple potentially long-term illnesses that happened all at once.”

Drivers go throughout Suffolk, Norfolk, Essex, and Cambridgeshire delivering food to charities that would have otherwise gone to waste.

“Those illnesses and a few injuries that happened over night may make it difficult for us to complete all of our charity runs,” the woman stated.

After illness struck her team, Sue sent out a “desperate cry out” for extra drivers.

FareShare is a national charity that collects surplus food and distributes it to organisations that can pass it on to their local community.

Ms Stenson said their four vans deliver to 150 charities across the eastern region.

“It can be pop up shops and pantries or children’s breakfast clubs – any charity with a food requirement.

“We go up to Hunstanton, over to Cambridge, and as far as Southend-on-Sea. We are passionate about making sure food doesn’t go to waste and go into landfill, and goes to those who need it most.”

Volunteers are needed by FareShare East Anglia to operate one of its four vans.

She said her team of 42 volunteers and staff had been “very unfortunate” that several members had been affected by illness at the same time.

They are looking for volunteers to help drive vans and manage the warehouse deliveries.

Although it is unpaid, she said volunteers sometimes go on to become paid staff members.

“We’d prefer a clean driving licence, and some experience of driving a standard three tonne van. It is quite a manual role: it is warehouse work, drivers will be putting loads onto the van and taking it off at the other end.

“It’s a desperate cry out to try and find people who could offer some time to us”, she said.