Team work makes the dream work

Oxford Mutual Aid, like so many other organisations, is experiencing a shortage of volunteers thanks to the number of people self-isolating after being pinged by the covid app. The Saturday evening shift was impossible to fill this week, so our Saturday afternoon quartet had a slightly expanded list of duties at the food bank to try and ensure that everyone needing food received their delivery.

First up, Ruth and Zoe finished packing the food parcels due to be delivered later in the afternoon, while after a guided tour of the OMA set-up Kevin got to work restocking the shelves with tins and tea. We had some confusion when we found that one of the fridges was full of meals obviously due to be delivered the same day, but no instructions on who they were to go to. Some puzzled messages to and fro with the organisers and we eventually got to the bottom of what had happened - they should have been included in the food parcels but had been left off the packing instructions. Another driver was scrambled to pick them up and get them to people in time for their evening meal and we rushed to box them up.

Once all the food parcels were sorted we turned our attention to the cleaning and sorting. Kevin did a wonderful job magicking order from the chaos of crates and cardboard boxes, while Ruth and Zoe took to the kitchen to reorganise the fridges so that the food was all in expiry date order and also portioned up fruit and veg to make it easier for the Sunday morning packing team - the fridge organisation takes a while but it's crucial for ensuring it's obvious what should be used first and avoiding unnecessary food waste. We also disposed of the fresh items which had gone bad (slimy radishes were a particular highlight), swept the floors, cleaned the fridges, and emptied the bins.

We have sometimes wondered whether this Saturday afternoon maintenance shift is quite as important as other shifts in the week, but recently we've really come to understand the value of it - there are very few moments in the week at Oxford Mutual Aid when there's time to ensure that cleaning, sorting and rubbish disposal happens. Sunday morning is a busy shift for preparing food parcels, so our work on Saturday afternoon make sit a lot easier for the Sunday team to hit the ground running.

Welcome Kevin - great to have you along!