Charity Champion or Volunteer of the Year nomination – Affordable Food Stoke’s volunteers
Charity Champion or Volunteer of the Year nomination – Affordable Food Stoke’s volunteers
From a social supermarket to emergency food parcels and a community lounge, Affordable Food Stoke can only continue to offer vital services to the community thanks to its team of more than 20 volunteers.
Many of the volunteers started off as beneficiaries of at least one of Affordable Food Stoke’s services and are now helping others.
Affordable Food Stoke in Blurton was set up by Nikki and Duane Barrett in 2017. It is now a registered charity and supports more than 2,500 families.
Duane Barrett has nominated the charity’s volunteers in the Charity Champion or Volunteer of the Year category of the Your Heroes Awards.
He said: “I really did have to think long and hard about making this nomination. Not because I don’t believe our volunteers deserve the recognition and the credit or because I don’t believe our volunteers are not worthy. But because we have had some amazing nights at the Your Heroes Awards, Staffordshire University Business Awards and the BBC Radio Stoke Make A Difference Awards,
“But therein lies the issue. We have had some amazing nights, awards, and memories. Not our volunteers. Not Alan, Craig, Dawn, Aunty Dawn, Dee, Glenis, Jason, Karen, Kathy, Kemal, Kev, Laura, Linda, Marie, Mark, Michelle 1, Michelle 2, Millissa, Lyn, Nette, Nick, Pam, Pat, Sam, Si, Connor or Cleo. These are our heroes.
“We weren’t going to enter because we want others around our city to have the experiences we have had, that we are very lucky to have had, but our volunteers deserve this. They all deserve the spotlight, the respect, the thanks and gratitude.
“These are the dedicated people that run Affordable Food Stoke and make us wonderful. Because they are wonderful! These are the true unsung juggernauts that have enabled us to make 723 collections of 82,873kg of food, giving away the equivalent of 198,816 meals worth of food, equivalent of 250,263kg of CO2 savings since January 2023.
“Also over 2023, these are the people that run No.87, our social supermarket, four days a week, supporting more than 2,500 visiting families.
“These are the people that have helped to collect and create more than 1,066 emergency food parcels (of which 595 were for children).
“These are the people that have cooked, looked after and fed more than 998 people with Friday dining, and have provided tea, toast and comfort to more than 1,712 people with our lounges.
“They are up early and out late, they come rain or shine and they carry us on their shoulders and carry our city too!
“This group of people amaze us every single day and they all have this unwavering desire to better where we live, and honestly they are the most amazing group of individuals we have ever met, inspiring us to keep pushing this charity that we founded forwards.
“The greatest thing about our city is the people ,and no-where in my opinion is that more evident that with our volunteers.
“The only thing I hope is that if you find it worthy to shortlist our merry band of extraordinary volunteers they can all get an invite to the best social calendar event of the year.”