Sagacity Volunteers at the Islington Food Bank

Each year Sagacity participates in several activities to raise money for charitable causes throughout the UK. This year, in addition to our fundraising activities, we’ve decided to go that one step further and directly help a cause that is a little closer to home, and what better way than volunteering locally where the great work and support can be seen and felt in the surrounding community.

The Islington Food Bank is part of the Trussell Trust Group that, a charitable network supporting over four-hundred food banks and twelve-hundred homeless centres in the UK. Depending on the day’s requirements volunteers are assigned roles of either Food Bank Support or Warehouse Assistant. Food Bank Support are front of house and welcome guests into the centre. They collect food vouchers in exchange for a supply package and are available to have cups of tea and socialise with the clients to assess if further support is required. Warehouse Assistants on the other hand are a little more behind the scenes but they importantly sort and arrange donated goods into separate food bins, before compiling supply packages containing various types of foods ready to be handed out. Whilst working they also ensure the warehouse remains clean and tidy as well as monitoring and recording stock levels.

Each month two Sagacity employees spend half a day in the food bank. Four of the Sagacity team have already successfully volunteered and were very humbled to be part of such a scheme. They were assigned roles of Warehouse Assistants where they assembled supply bags in preparation for the clients’ voucher-package exchange. Our team learnt exactly what it takes to volunteer at a busy food bank and met some fantastic people who volunteer regularly to help those less fortunate than themselves.

The next steps for Sagacity volunteering include another duo at the Islington Food Bank in early March, as well as future plans for donations within the office, and further support for the food bank’s clients. These ideas include recipes and cooking suggestions using the supply package’s ingredients, advice on how to store and maintain the produce, and what nutritious meals can be made from leftovers. To start off with, the office donation scheme is being trialled in Sagacity’s London office but we plan to roll out the scheme and support across our other offices if this continues to be a success.

The Islington Food Bank is always looking for support through financial donations or by getting involved and volunteering down at the centre. For more information see the Islington Food Bank