Sainsbury's Helston

Drama Express works with children and young people to provide an activities programme based around the performing arts. Each child and young person has a complex disability. With a membership of over 70 young people, Drama Express is a thriving community. The children and young people have a wide range of needs which include a diagnosis of autism / asperser’s syndrome, sensory loss / impairments, cognitive processing deficits, epilepsy, behaviours that challenge, restricted / limited mobility, learning difficulties, genetic disorders, dyspraxia and life limiting conditions. Drama Express also works closely with the families of each child and young person, recognizing the challenges around having someone in the household with a complex disability. This also impacts finances. The additional costs for specialist equipment can put a strain on money for basic items. Other charges such as medicines, travel to hospitals and time off work all contribute to budget pressures. Drama Express is proud to support these families with food surplus. We know from feedback how families feel gratitude to receive fresh, nutritious produce. We also know that shopping can be a huge challenge for these families who tell us that having a child or young person with a complex disability means a supermarket visit can be a real struggle. We have responded by our own deliveries of food surplus ensuring family do not have to worry about lack of food- piece of mind that we all often take for granted.

Transition Constantine has set up a Food Waste Stall to offer free food and commodities to the people of Constantine. Supplies are from supermarket food surplus or slightly damaged goods, gleaning and donations from allotments or similar. The first station is at Staplehurst, Bowling Green Constantine, near the doctors surgery and there are plans approved by the committee to add a second facility at the other end of the village next to the Social Club. The donations are laid out on a purpose built stall near the Doctors Surgery with access for passers by. The local shopkeeper and doctor contacted Transition highlighting their concerns about food poverty in the village, and the fact that people were not using the tiny, limited foodbank facility due to the stigma surrounding apparent need in a small community such as Constantine. The Reduce Food Waste initiative grew out of this as a vehicle to offer much needed supplies to anyone who wishes to pass by and help themselves without prejudice. Anyone can take the food, according to their needs or abilities for example medlars and similar fruit from gleaning has been used to make jellies etc. to avoid the surplus fruit going rotten. It is totally free at the point of collection. At this point we are collecting surplus food from Asda once a week, and from farm gleaning, and volunteer donations. Transition Constantine runs a monthly Farmers Market in the village to support local food producers, crafts people and includes such initiatives as a childrens clothes swap, bicycle repairs and clothes repairs for reasonable sums. In addition there is a cafe run by the PTA to gain funding for the school and foster social interaction in the community, particularly for the elderly who use it as a monthly meet and greet session over tea and cake. Transition Cornwall's work is reported on monthly in the ConstantTimes, a local newspaper, link to this is online below. We are also promoting the use of slow cookers as an economical way to use and cook surplus food. To date this has been through a table at the Farmers Market and at the Community Lunch held in October. There are plans to extend this to include lessons in the future.

Monday and Wednesday evenings 5pm-6pm a community meal is available from Central Methodist Church free of charge. Fridays, food boxes are delivered to clients who we have seen through our Christians Against Poverty Debt Centre . When the industrial kitchen is fitted in The Epworth Centre we hope to expand this service.