This week’s South Ealing Food Cupboard mission started off unusually calm. Stephane and Iram had plenty of time to enjoy the sunshine and chat while we waited over an hour for the delivery, delayed, but not forgotten!

When it finally arrived, the calm quickly turned into chaos. The delivery was significantly larger than usual, and with patrons already waiting beyond the normal start time, it became a fast-paced unpacking frenzy.

We unloaded a mountain of food: heaps of potatoes, bunches of bananas, stacks of instant noodles, and a fridge and a half full of sour cream sachets. Open HelloFresh boxes added to the mystery meal vibe, and someone even donated a bag of fresh tomatoes from their allotment - a lovely personal touch! Of course, all this abundance came with an avalanche of cardboard to recycle, which kept us busy right to the end.

From peaceful beginnings to a mad dash unpack, it was another rewarding (and slightly sweaty) session at the Food Cupboard.

Each Monday morning, GoodGym lends a hand to the South Ealing Food Cupboard, helping the wonderful volunteers get surplus food sorted and ready for the local community. This week, Diana and Iram were up to the task!

This week’s session felt more like preparing for a tropical brunch buffet than a typical food cupboard shift! There was a bounty of pineapples, coconuts, and enormous watermelons. There were so many huge melons, it required a team effort to move, chop and bag them! As if that wasn’t enough, boxes of croissants, stacks of tin foil, and an avalanche of chicken made their entrance - a good haul indeed.

It was another brilliant morning of teamwork, good vibes, and keeping good food out of the bin and into the hands of people who need it.

Each Monday morning, GoodGym helps the South Ealing Food Cupboard volunteers prepare to give away food to the community. Supermarkets and other organisations donate surplus items to prevent waste. A lot of heavy lifting and speedy organisation is needed to get a van-load of food ready to share!

This morning’s haul was a slightly odd selection: white chocolate Easter bunnies, jelly play kits, and a mountain of Cornish pasties. Rebecca and Iram channelled their inner Tetris masters to squeeze the pasties into every available fridge space. Honestly, there were probably more pasties in the room than in the whole of Cornwall! Meanwhile, Jamie did a fabulous job flattening the humongous pile of cardboard, and Martin took on the sun-soaked task of unloading crates from the van and hauling them over to the church.

It was Rebecca’s first GoodGym session and Jamie’s second — lovely to welcome them both! They took to it like ducks to water!