The Pantry 

Alongside this, the team also run the Langwith Community Pantry – a space which anyone can attend, pay £5, and fill a bag with fresh fruit and vegetables, cupboard staples, chilled proteins and frozen goods.  Mel, Food Champion for Rhubarb Farm told us about the Pantry and its users: “we get a delivery from FareShare round about 11 o'clock on a Thursday morning. At 1 o'clock the doors open and people come in, they take a bag, fill it with whatever they need... and the pantry closes at 6:30pm.” 

Unlike some other food services, such as foodbanks, the Langwith Community Pantry is passionate about ensuring their food is accessible to all who need it, rather than acting as an emergency resource. Mel shared that the Pantry primarily sees older people and families with young children seeking their support, “they're all saying we're really grateful because they can't get any help anywhere else.” 

Natalie, mother to 3 boys, attends the Pantry to ensure they have good food to eat, “Feeding my children - and myself, honestly, I don't know what we'd do... If we didn’t have this, we literally would have nothing apart from food banks that only give you a short supply of stuff. [Using the pantry,] I know that if I can afford to spend that little bit extra on an extra packet of nappies because I don't have to pay quite as much for food, because I've always got this place here that I can top up the food supply if I need to get essentials.”  

FareShare Midlands Food 

Much of the food used within the Pantry is surplus stock, provided by FareShare Midlands. Through their membership, the Pantry can receive a wide range of fresh fruit and vegetables, which Mel explains goes down very well with their service users - “we have quite a large number of customers whose kids go straight for the fruit and veg. Always.  

And all the kids are always allowed to just take an orange or some tomatoes or an apple. We have one little girl that took a parsnip the other week and proceeded to eat it all the way home, raw.” 

The regular access to fruits and vegetables provides a variety of benefits to the Pantry’s service users. Julia, who attends the Pantry to collect food for herself, and her grandchildren explained that “mostly what we come for is the fruit and veg, so it's the nutrition, it's the healthy, balanced meals. Even my little 5-year-old grandson, he asks me to tell him what vitamins are in broccoli. He's really interested in cooking, even though he’s only 5”.  

Maria, mother and frequent Pantry user adds that through the Pantry “we get to try different vegetables as well, [my daughter] tried asparagus and loves that!” 

But it’s about more than just the food. As with the services at Rhubarb Farm, the Pantry’s users are able to benefit from interaction with one another, which can help boost mental wellbeing and reduce social isolation. Tanya, a parent who attends the Pantry, says “I look forward to just popping up and having a chat.” 

From speaking to the parents and Pantry Volunteers, it’s clear that parents are using the foods collected from the Pantry as inspiration, helping them to learn new cooking skills, try new things and teach their children new recipes. Volunteer, Anastasia says “it's also hopefully encouraging people to cook from scratch, if they can come here and get pasta, some fresh fruit and vegetables, and maybe a bit of chicken” and parent, Tanya, says “I see it as a bit like ready, steady, cook. That bag will feed our family for 3 days, leftovers will go in the freezer... it keeps us going. So it's more like a life. I actually enjoy it.” 

School Holiday Support 

Through supporting families and children, Langwith Community Pantry is a lifeline for parents over the school holidays. Julia shares the impact of the schools closing on her granddaughter, a young mother, “little ‘un gets free school meals, so clearly that’s extra lunches that she has to find. [If she didn’t have access to this food] she would probably have to go into debt to eat.” 

Anastasia, who volunteers at Rhubarb Farm as well as the Pantry, informed us that over summer, families often struggle to access the activities provided by organisations due to a lack of driving, or means to travel. She adds that the Pantry makes sure to keep their regular services running, so “They can come here and make a family thing of deciding what they're going to be eating for the next few days. And then extend that into having a little picnic out while we've got nice weather. It’s not just the food side of it that's making them healthy, it's the wider impact of having something that they can take out and make us of a day of it.”