ALDI WITHAM

At witham town lunch club we provide a warm safe environment for our older members to meet, chat and enjoy a hot freshly prepared meal. Our aims are to reduce isolation and loneliness. We aim to improve nutrition and promote healthy minds in the elderly.

We now have our premises as Tiptree Community Hub and as part of the hub services, we provide a community fridge and larder and a pre-loved school uniform service. We have developed relationships with many local supplier's in the village and we have 5 supermarket chains as well as a local Egg farm, Butcher's and Bakers that support our community fridge. We are also fortunate to the support of Wilkin and Sons in the village who make world famous jams and preserves as well as Perrywoods, the renowned garden centre, as well as the support from the neighbourly food suppliers. . We have many enthusiastic volunteers who are passionate about helping promote the prevention of food waste as well as wanting to help those in need. We are gravely concerned about the rising prices for food, energy and fuel which is making many families, elderly and individuals have to choose between eating and fueling their homes and vehicles. We want to bolster the work of our amazing food bank in the village which is stretched to its limits and provide fresh food and advice on recipes to utilse food to its potential. We would welcome all support to access as many supplier's as possible. This includes donations from residents such as vegetables from gardens or excess food for example when they go away on holiday. Tiptree a hub is developing its services and will be a warm safe space, as well as providing a community cafe to help reduce social isolation. Being part of the community hub and fridge is not means tested and is available to all residents. It will not take away from the amazing work of our local food bank, it will add to it by providing fresh food and vegetables.

We are creating a space to escape the stress & pressure of life, gain confidence & reduce the isolation felt by those living with disability. For the last 13 years we have run our award winning Educational Animal Encounter business across Essex, & surrounding areas, allowing children & adults to get up close & hands on with our animals. We visit schools, organisations, & host public & private displays, all the time educating our audience. A very important part of what we do is offer SEN & therapy sessions. Over the years we have met some fantastic children & adults, who don’t usually get the chance to meet any animals, let alone Meerkats or snakes. What we love most about our sensory sessions is the range of reactions we get from those that we visit, we might visit a dementia unit & by stroking a ferret or holding a tortoise, an area of the residents brain is reawakened & family members can’t believe their normally very quiet relative is sat chatting away about how they used to keep ferrets as a child and reliving fantastic memories they’ve never heard them talk about before. Due to the many requests from our customers we are now creating a non-profit static centre where people can come & visit, learn about & get up close to our animals. Our focus will be on our Therapeutic services, offering an interactive zoo experience aimed at the many people who struggle to go to busy zoos, this may be down to a fear of large crowds, too much noise or generally feeling that the facilities won’t be appropriate for their disability or mental health condition. It has been proven that when people are interacting with animals, seeing them and having physical contact with them, endorphins are released which produce a calming effect & because your mood is improved it increases social interaction, you want to learn about the animal, you ask questions & then to talk about your experience. I have personal experience of this aiding depression and anxiety. Our facility will be a place where people can have an immersive zoo experience, a space people can visit with peace of mind that no-one will be judging them, they are in a safe place & they don’t need to rush or worry about others. Giving them the opportunity to sit with our animals to fully appreciate their beauty & calming effect. This will be available for schools, organisations or private bookings where people would be able to visit or book in for one to one sessions with our team, whether that be for a private tour of the facility, a private Educational Animal Encounter or Sensory Session, or simply visit our site & enjoy the animals at their own pace. We also want to offer work placements & volunteer positions for children, young people & adults who are struggling to attend school or work, to help them get into a routine, regain their sense of purpose and focus so they are able to get back into education or full-time work. Having a safe space to visit can help reduce the overwhelming emotions being felt.