It was the GoodGym Central team's away day on Wednesday, and while high-minded philosophising and strategising has its place (lord don't I love the sound of my own voice at times), GoodGym is at its best when it is all about getting things done.

So after a pit-stop for lunch we (that is most of us who hadn't also ordered dessert and stayed at the restaurant) hot-tailed it across to St George the Martyr Church to help the Borough Food Cooperative team with a range of tasks.

Some of the team hit the kitchen, sorting, packing and putting away a range of foodstuffs, including a mountain of potatoes and possibly the largest collection of Lurpak containers I have ever seen. Given their cost these days, it genuinely looked like a Fort Knox's worth of buttery bullion.

Another group was tasked with giving the outside and entrance to the church a bit of spruce up, clearing up weeds, tidying flower pots and beds, sweeping up dust and cobwebs and generally giving the place a fresher feel. It must have worked as two passers-by asked if they could come and sit in the adjacent garden, and enjoy the sun trap. Their leisurely catch up clearly had an effect as we ended up covering a range of topics ourselves as we worked, including:

• AI... far too much AI chat
• Future evolution of humanity
• Writing books and gender representation in thriller writing
• Marketing budgets
• GoodGym partnerships to maintain walk and cycle ways across the UK

So there were some work conversations at least.

Jack, Jacob and Chalomi were also given the oddly Victorian sound task of shuttling bags of coal down to the nearby rectory house. Reports from their adventures indicate this was a far more sweaty and awkward job than expected due to an antagonistic trolley, but anyone who knows these wannabe Dickensian street urchins will also know that it'll take more than incompliant wheels to spoil their GoodGym-ing fun.

As we gathered for a final photo, we were met with the loveliest of feedback from the people running the project and the impact we made, putting us in the perfect headspace to go get an ice-cream (and do some more planning work obviously).

Awaydays should be about bringing people together around common values and goals - that also happens to be something GoodGym is perfect at and indeed it was the perfect way to share time, ideas and experiences with each other.

Volunteering at Borough Food Cooperative alongside the core team, we were on a roll, Brew-tally bagging 1,110 teabags. A real souper team effort , everyone pulling their weight to keep shelves stacked and crates looking egg-stra fresh. We carrott on sorting and stocked up the goodies with zero crumbs left. When Felix dropped the goods in the heat, we stayed cool as cucumbers in the basement, just nacho average team serving top-tier snack vibes.

Had a busy two hours but really enjoyed it. It was mainly sorting veg and then get the shop ready for the shop tomorrow. The other volunteer that did it with me was very good at showing me what to do.

2 GoodGymers dove right in to a productive session at Borough Food Co-op. J and Chandrima sorted 8 crates of miscellaneous veggies (chives, cabbages, corn, aubergines, bell peppers, mushrooms, tomatoes, carrots, and yam), salad boxes, and fruits (lemons, oranges, bananas, apples, pears, and plums) —into dedicated crates for each item, with some stored safely in the veggie freezer, alongside a thorough quality check for tomorrow’s food bank. 🥬🌽

Next up, they sorted 6 miscellaneous boxes of pantry staples—lentils, chickpeas, red kidney beans, cannelloni beans, finely chopped tomatoes and rice—onto neatly stocked shelves.🫘🍚

All 7 refrigerator and freezer temperatures were accurately recorded to ensure everything stayed fresh. Chandrima carefully divided massive cartons of eggs into safe 6-packs, then J meticulously cleaned all the crates for the next session. ♻️ The team wrapped up by breaking down cardboard boxes for recycling, sweeping the floors, and wiping down surfaces to leave everything spotless. ✨

Today I sorted four crates of carrots 🥕, into usable or bin in preparation for tomorrow's Borough Pantry Club.

Today two Goodgymers sorted and packed away food donations in preparation for Borough food pantry tomorrow.