ALDI STROUD

The Middle of the Hill Community Group, in Bisley Old Road, Stroud, has seen neighbours supporting each other for over 20 years. Always grass-roots led & volunteer-run, now more than ever we flex and change to best offer a helping hand to those in need, whilst continuing to work to our simple core mission of "Making our Neighbourhood a Community". MHCG has run a busy Foodhub from its Community Room in Nouncells Cross since January 2021, when as a response to Covid19 we looked at how we could directly support those among us living in challenging circumstances, with financial hardship and food insecurity starting to become so much more commonplace. The last three years have seen our FoodHub grow & change, from National Lottery funds for new flooring & external decking to internal shelving & decor, from a few Tesco items a week to links built with NoSH, FareShare, Stroud Farmers Market, Waitrose, The Hygiene Bank, InKind & many more to ensure we reduce food waste by bringing good quality surplus stock to our shelves & fridges or freezers. This has enabled us to step up to meet the joint challenges of Cost of Living and Fuel Crises, with some welcome support from our fantastic funders. As well as providing a range Food & Hygiene products our FoodHub has become an important social hub for our Community, helping to reduce isolation, enabling neighbours to meet & enjoy a cuppa & a chat three days a week. Whether it's food or tea & biscuits we don't charge set prices or a fee, we operate on a pay-as-you-can basis, we've found this enables those who use us to help reduce food waste, for example, to support those who may be experiencing food insecurity. There is the understanding that there is no eligibility criteria and that we are open to all. All customers are aware donations are gratefully received to assist with our running costs. We also run an active community gardening project and have transformed an underused part of the estate into a lovely Community Garden where we have raised beds to grow scented herbs, flowers, fruit and vegetables. This brings our neighbours together, helps us feel closer to nature, and to take pride in the spaces we share together. Our monthly grounds action days (which end in a shared community lunch) tackle bigger projects and have achieved much, including painting areas of the estate, planting a new 150m long Native Hedgerow to support wildlife habitat & decrease pollution, creating a wildflower meadow, building raised beds, and we're very proud of our own compost!

Paganhill Community Group started in 2017 following a very successful street party where lots of neighbours got together and ran a donation only event. We had a barbecue, live music by mostly local people, games for children, cake stall and local charities and who came and helped and joined in with the fun. Following the event a number of us formed a committee and later that year opened a cafe. This is held in our local Maypole Hall on a Friday afternoon. We decided from the start as this was not an affluent area that we would provide all food on a pay as you feel basis. We welcome everybody and a number of residents now offer arts and crafts, majong and other activities. Help and advise is on offer through P3 and Emerging Futures. We are always looking for people to join in or bring their ideas and skills to benefit their community. We now have a hope at The Octagon and run a variety of activities from our cafe and food hubs to bingo and a beautiful community garden. Because we run on donations I have applied for grant funding from few sources which has helped us buy equipment, pay towards the rent of the halls and train volunteers. We are starting to take volunteers who want to work towards achieving something like Duke of Edinburgh award or towards a work skill.

Quedgeley Community Pantry has been set up to provide low-cost food for local residents struggling with the cost-of-living crisis. The pantry can be used by any resident who needs help to afford groceries including fresh, frozen and ambient food, pet food, toiletries and cleaning products. The pantry charge is £3 for 10 items, and service-users also have access to free items that may be out of use by date by up to 1 day.