This project will be based at Queen’s Park Primary school. It will bring together stakeholders from across the local area (church St) with charities like ourselves (Church Street Community Cha) providing ongoing experiences through volunteering and education based on biodiversity, sustainability and care for our local environment. This project is a direct response to the food crisis brought about by the recent pandemic. We have already repurposed 70 Tons of wastage of food and want to keep reducing food waste. We have set up local planting in our community gardens (where we volunteer) and within our own school site. We propose to bring together stakeholders to continue to offer and re-purpose food and educate people about the impact of food waste and general waste on the environment. We are looking to purchase some wicker play areas, new planters, a new shed and more tools for our volunteers to help with the running of this programme.

What we'll deliver:

• 10 workshops on-site over holiday period from 9:00-3:00
• 2 community litter picks
• 20 Weekly food deliveries
• Support for wider community
• 5 Assemblies across partner schools
• 4 Weekly deliveries to local charities
• Community volunteering and gardening sessions
• Food referral service with QPCC
• Mentoring and wellbeing support for students

Why it's a great idea:

Intended to bring benefits across-the-board to stakeholders and participants, in the first instance this project will directly benefit those who are facing difficulty in the present circumstances .It will provide a network of support offering coaching and mentoring as well as food poverty relief. The most vulnerable members of our community will receive direct support in the form of deliveries and donations. The project, being a community based concern, means that it will also build cultural capital and strengthen bonds already brought about by the work already undertaken. By creating pathways for outside providers and corporate businesses to offer outreach and educate students and community members, the project will also be a useful tool for businesses hoping to engage directly with the local community, as well as meeting CS requirements. Often corporate organisations provide us with amazing offers, they report that they find it very difficult to directly access.

Steps to get it done:

• Coaches Trained
• Food Repurposed
• Plants Planted
• Sessions delivered

We are aware of the negative stigma wrongly attached to accessing what is sometimes considered "free food" through projects such as ours. We believe in educating young people early on the environmental impact of our actions regarding food and land. They see the benefit of reusing resources which otherwise go to waste. It is vital that our young people understand the results created by the processing of waste and wasting food. By looking at re-purposing food and land to prevent negative outcomes we are able to reduce the stigma /difficulty in accessing such resources in general. This is particularly important as we are aware that there is a great need for additional spaces and food, as we have seen through direct requests and signposting that has come to us for such support through the recent crisis. We believe that by actively taking measures to reduce this as a community we can make a positive difference to the amount of waste/pollution occurring locally, encouraging sustainability.