GAIL's Bakery Richmond

We offer a morning drop-in Monday - Friday, 9am - 11am, providing casework, a hot breakfast, surplus food, clothing, showers, nursing, telephone, internet and postal services, tea and coffee and connection to a supportive community. All our services are complimentary. We are also a hub for other outreach services who we work closely with, e.g. Glassdoor, St Mungo's, Salvation Army Employment Service, RCDAS (Richmond Community Drug and Alcohol Service), Spear Homeless Charity. Our charity shop sells affordable clothing and bric-a-brac and supports vulnerable guests with free clothing and items for setting up a new home. All profits are used for the benefit of our charitable work. The Richmond Foodbank provides emergency food for local people in crisis. It also operates at other locations across the borough. We work with local referral partners who assess people's needs and issue free vouchers to use at our foodbank. We also host other groups and services in the afternoons such as Citizens Advice, Mind Craft Group, Ukrainian Support Group and a Women's Hub.

At The Real Junk Food Project (TRJFP), we collect surplus food and turn it into delicious warm meals that we serve in our Community cafes across the Borough. Food that we don’t use in our cooking is available for our guests to take away with them. Our aim is to feed bellies not bins, and everyone is welcome at TRJFP, particularly those experiencing food poverty, cost of living anxiety or a sense of social isolation. Operating since 2018, we now run 9 different sessions at 6 venues every week across the London Borough of Richmond-upon-Thames, all on a ‘Pay as you Feel’ basis. Our team of 100 brilliant volunteers currently provide around 800 meals every week for our guests. Some of our sessions offer a food surplus hub and cafe, others just a surplus hub. Our venues are ETNA Community Centre in East Twickenham, the Cambrian Centre in Richmond, Linden Hall in Hampton, outside Noble Wines in Hampton Hill, Ham Youth Centre, and Achieving for Children in Ham. Details on what we offer at each venue and when we are open at www.trjfp-twickenham.com Our aim is to create friendly spaces where our guests come together over food to enjoy time together, making new friends or meeting with old ones. We are strong believers that feeling connected to others helps strengthen community spirit, fosters a sense of belonging and builds collective positivity. Our recent guest survey shows us that 88% of our visitors feel that coming to the Project helps them feel more connected to others in their community, and 75% feel a reduction in the food related stress they experience. "It’s good because you go there, you chat to people and they’re very helpful…. the people [volunteers] are friendly and, and it helps a lot with a few bits, you know. It does. Otherwise, it would cost you much more. I mean you go there; you pick up a few stuffs and...it helps a lot, you know" “…Incredible cooking. Feel loved, they make us feel at home, like a family. All of them look after this project like they are hosting in their own homes.” As a Project we are reliant on donations and grants to operate. On average, each meal we provide costs around £3.00 (which is made up of food transport and storage costs, venue rent, utility costs, food packaging, operating overheads etc). Our ambition is to continue to expand our offering, supporting every resident in the Borough who might need us. We rely on the generosity of others to be able to do so. Thank you to everyone who has supported TRJFP on our journey to date.

Working to strengthen resident migrant communities, our projects revolve around themes of reducing social isolation, inequalities and poverty and improving mental and physical health, and financial and social inclusion.