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OUR STORY
Dursley Tabernacle Community Food Hub is an initiative which grew out of Dursley Tab’s desire to help encourage a sense of community, prevent food waste and meet local need.
Initially, church volunteers delivered small parcels of surplus food and flowers to people isolated and/or financially impacted by the first Covid lockdown. Inspired by Jesus’ love of his neighbour and care for those who were overlooked, the volunteers wanted recipients to know that they were seen and valued. In this way the scheme was a natural fit with the church’s mission statement of ‘Inspired by Jesus, walking his way of radical love to make a difference in this world.’ Referrals were originally by word of mouth, but schools began to forward details of families happy to be part of the scheme.
The initial small team of Church volunteers began to be joined by others outside of the church who heard about the deliveries or received parcels themselves and this growth and partnership between Church and local community has continued. As the team and number of referrals grew so did the number of supermarkets the Tab partnered with, until now when surplus food is collected most days. This is placed on the market stall outside the Tab for free, as well as being delivered to homes.
Dursley Tab’s Community Food Hub opened in Autumn 2022, with an increasing focus on produce being available for collection at the church. Making the food available at the Tab gives people the choice to select items that best suit their family needs. The Hub will seek to keep evolving and responding to the hopes and needs of people, particularly as the cost-of-living crisis impacts on families’ ability to buy food. One of its first developments has been to open a community fridge in the Tab’s reception room providing chilled surplus food.
As a church we recognise that people need food. In the Lord’s Prayer we ask, ‘Give us this day our daily bread’. But we also believe that faith, hope and love bring life in a way that bread alone can’t (Matthew 4.4). We would encourage you to consider what the churches in this town can offer you in the Christian faith to We would encourage you to consider what the churches in this town can offer you in the Christian faith to meet wider needs Churches Together in Cam, Dursley and District
The Food Hub Team are always interested in welcoming new volunteers and are always looking for new ways to partner with local businesses. Whilst much of our stock arrives via donations from individuals or stores, we do top up the supplies as and when necessary, and this comes with a cost. If you are able to donate to help with this cost, we would be very grateful. We also have donation points at various places around the local area, where you can drop off gifts of staple items.
OUR MOST WANTED ITEMS:
- Cereals and UHT milk
- Nappies, Wipes, and Baby Shampoo
- Shower gel, Shampoo and Toothpaste
- Laundry tablets
- Coffee and long life Fruit Juice
- Pasta and Sauces
- Tinned meat, Beans and Fish
OUR CURRENT DROP OFF POINTS:
- The Food Hub during opening hours (Mon 10-12, Weds 4-6, Thurs 10-12, Fri 10-12)
- Autocheck Car Care Centre, Industrial Estate Units 8-10 Taits Hill, Dursley GL11 6BL
- R and J Hardware, 6-8 High Street, Cam GL11 5LE
- Dursley Library, May Lane, Dursley, GL11 4JH
We have been supported by many local businesses and charities and would like to express our thanks to:
Sainsburys Dursley, Lidl Dursley, The Coop Rosebery Road, M and S Cribbs Causeway, Waitrose Stroud, Tesco Cam and Tesco Quedgeley.
Dursley Town Council, Autocheck, R and J Hardware, Dursley Library, The Tuckdhop Dursley, The Lions Club of Dursley, Ashmead W.I., Blue Cross Charity Shop Dursley, FareShare, Neighbourly and BBC Radio Gloucestershire.
For more information about Dursley Tab contact the minister Simon Helme on 07443 568242 minister@dursleytab.org.uk or see https://www.facebook.com/DursleyTab
For more information about the Dursley Tabernacle Community Food Hub, please contact Heidi Horn on 07970 871 471 or heidihorn@rocketmail.com
