GAIL's Bakery Teddington

The Food with Love Community Pantry is a community food club, run by and for its members offering good quality, healthy and nutritious food through low cost membership. In June this year (2022) Food with Love (FwL) launched a new and innovative service aimed to empower the residents of the London Borough of Hounslow. The FwL Community Pantry helps families living on the threshold to sustain their livelihoods whilst maintaining their self worth and dignity. We are a community resource; here for those who need us. Our main aim is to; - Support and strengthen the self-esteem of members - Increase self-reliance and resilience - Reduce reliance on food banks. Each member makes a small contribution towards the cost of the food they choose during their weekly visit to the Pantry. To ensure that essential staples are always available the Pantry reinvests all of its member’s fees to buying stock. One of the ethos of FwL is to help decrease the amount of food that is needlessly sent to landfill each year. FwL collects and redistributes surplus stock from supermarkets and food manufacturers within the London Borough of Hounslow. The nature of suppliers means that the supplies are varied every week.

We are a volunteer run group focused on reducing food waste and supporting local families in need. Our mission is simple: to make sure no one in our community goes hungry while tackling the growing problem of food surplus. Thanks to our partnerships with Neighbourly, Fareshare and Caboodle, we have benefited from strong relationships with local supermarkets and food providers—including M&S, Waitrose, Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Nando's, KFC, Co-op, Lidl, Aldi, Pret a Manger, and Gail’s Bakery—we rescue surplus food and redistribute it to those who need it most via personal contacts and our Partner Organisations. This gives us the ability to provide varied, nutritious food parcels at no cost to families and individuals facing food insecurity. In addition to fresh food collections, we also stock a community cupboard with ambient and non-perishable items, enabling members of our community to access support anonymously and with dignity. Our recipients are identified through word of mouth and referrals from local schools and community organisations. Each week, we supply the equivalent of 2250 meals to local families and indiviuals as well as primary schools and community groups - ensuring that anyone who needs food can access it easily. Together, we are building a stronger, more sustainable community where food is shared, not wasted.

Esol for integration, citizenship classes, drop in clinic/legal advice, supplementary school, zanan project: women's tea corner, mentoring/volunteering, prevent counter-extremism strategy, business and employment advice, cultural and social events, advocacy and conferences,