Members Newsletter | Issue 4
Welcome
Hello and welcome to Peckham Pantry’s May Newsletter!
This month’s edition will take a break from looking at the report findings and instead include a feature on Your Local Pantry, the wider scheme Peckham Pantry is a member of. We will also be celebrating some more of our brilliant ambassadors, and at the end we include another delicious and healthy recipe that can be made using items from the Pantry.
Finally, please consider donating to the pantry via the Bankuet QR code or link. The Pantry is able to provide affordable food shops for their members because of the kindness and generosity of volunteers and donors.
Thank you.
Temi Okudiya
Peckham Pantry Manager
Feature: Your Local Pantry
To understand Peckham Pantry, how it works and the values that guide it, it is important to understand Your Local Pantry, the wider network of Pantries it is a part of.
The first Your Local Pantry was established in Stockport in 2013, and since then over 80 have been set up across the UK.
Your Local Pantry is a network of Pantries which all follow a similar model: people from the local community can join as members, paying a small weekly subscription of a few pounds. Once a member, people are entitled to around £20-25 of groceries per week. Food is sourced primarily from FairShare, and each Pantry also has its own local suppliers. Every Pantry is run by a mixture of both staff and volunteers, some of whom are also members.
Membership to a pantry can be a great help to those facing financial issues. For a household visiting the pantry each week, up to £780 can be saved each year. 95% of pantry members say their household finances have improved since they joined. Lower grocery bills mean people can more easily meet other essential costs, save, or enjoy more treats as a family.
“The Pantry is helping me a lot financially to make fresh healthy meals leaving me more able to pay my bills, which was something I was struggling to do. I was eating a lot of frozen food and struggling to put gas and leccy in my meter. Thanks to the Pantry this is no longer an issue.”
– Pantry member from Liverpool
As well as providing people with access to low-cost food, Your Local Pantries also ensure people can have choice over the food they buy. They strive to be stocked with a wide variety of food, which is important to cater for all diets, whether shaped by food sensitivities or allergies, religious or cultural backgrounds and more. This ensures that members are able to shop with dignity and freedom.
“Being a member has allowed my family to save money and buy more fresh meat that is halal, as they are Muslim and find it difficult to afford halal meat.”
– Pantry member
Finally, pantries provide an important sense of community through the local membership model. Those who go often will see familiar faces and get to know their fellow members, generating a feeling of camaraderie and togetherness. As well as members, volunteers have also benefited socially from being involved with the Pantry, making friendships with fellow volunteers and members. The shared space and sense of community that pantries have created in local areas have served as a springboard to other initiatives and ideas, such as cookery classes, volunteering opportunities, and training.
“I have made new friends, learned new skills and my confidence has increased. I have gained valuable work experience. I really enjoy being a volunteer.”
– Volunteer from Birmingham Your Local Pantry
All information, statistics and quotes taken from the Your Local Pantry and Church Action on Poverty websites.
Ambassador of the Month:
Emma
Emma started volunteering at The Pantry in September 2021 and she gives Peckham Pantry about 18 hours a week of her time.
Emma is a great member of the team and well known by shoppers, you will usually find her working hard unloading the deliveries and sorting products ready for the shop floor.
Angela
Angela has been with us since September 2022 she gives up a morning a week to help at The Pantry.
Angela is usually at the check out, is always ready to help with any task and she does so with a smile.
Join Our New Peckham Pantry Steering Group
Our Peckham Pantry Steering group meets once a month to make plans on how the pantry can be more engaged in the community. Whether you’re a pantry ambassador, a pantry member or a neighbour living locally and want to get involved in community activities, everyone is welcome to join our steering group.
The steering group is organising a monthly coffee morning outside Peckham Pantry on Peckham Park Road this summer. Come and join us for a cup of tea or coffee, some biscuits and a chat at our first coffee morning on Thursday 8 June from 9.30-10.30am. Looking forward to seeing you there and sharing a cuppa!
To join and for questions, please contact Flora on 07929 999 006.
Peckham Pantry's May Recipe: Roasted Celeriac Soup
All the ingredients for this recipe can be found at the Pantry.
Ingredients:
o 1 celeriac (celery root)
o 2 tablespoons olive oil
o 2 teaspoons dried thyme
o 1 tablespoon olive oil
o 1 onion diced
o 2 cloves garlic chopped
o 1 litre vegetable stock
Method
- Preheat the oven to 400F/200C and prepare a baking sheet for the celeriac.
- Peel the celeriac, dice it into medium-sized cubes.
- Place them onto a baking sheet. Drizzle with the oil, sprinkle with thyme, and toss well. Spread out onto the baking sheet in a single layer, then roast in the oven for 25 minutes or until it begins to turn golden.
- Heat the oil in a large soup pot, then add the onion and cook for 5-7 minutes or until translucent. Add the garlic and cook for another 1-2 minutes being careful not to burn. Add the vegetable stock and water, bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 5 minutes.
- When the roasted celeriac is finished, add it to the pan (you may wish to reserve a few pieces for garnish), bring it back to the boil, and simmer for a further 3 minutes.
- Transfer to a blender (you may need to do this in batches so as not to overfill) and process until smooth.
BBC Food - £1 Dinners
Pantry Opening Times
49-53 Peckham Park Road, SE15 6TU
- Monday- 9am - 4pm
- Tuesday- 11am - 4pm
- Wednesday- 9am - 4pm
- Thursday- 10am - 7pm
- Friday- 9am - 4pm
- Saturday- 9am - 15pm
- Sunday- Closed
St Lukes Church, Chandler Way, SE15 6DT
- Monday- Closed
- Tuesday- Closed
- Wednesday- 11am - 2pm
- Thursday - Closed
- Friday - Closed
- Saturday - Closed
- Sunday - Closed
Vacancies
If you would like to become a Pantry Ambassador then contact us at:
email: pantry@pecan.org.uk
tel: 020 7277 7075.
website: www.pecan.org.uk/peckham-pantry
