AFTER A BUSY six weeks, a Woodley organisation is taking time to reflect on its first summer in operation.
Launched in June, Woodley Lunch Bunch has distributed more than 600 packed lunches to children during the summer holidays.
Founder Juliet Sherratt said the experience has been full-on, but she’s proud of what the volunteer team have achieved in a short time frame.
“Taking stock now, and being able to look back, I feel we did a good job,” she said. “We gave out feedback forms in the last week and had some really lovely comments.”
In the past six weeks, the organisation has fed 63 children from 28 different families.
“We were primarily focusing on holiday hunger,” explained Ms Sherratt. “But we’re aware that actually a lot of our referrals were for under fives – so the school holidays are irrelevant to these families.
‘We don’t quite have the capacity yet to go all year round, but we’re returning for half-terms and the Christmas holidays.”
Also included in the food deliveries were activity packs to keep children busy during the holidays.
“They were really well received,” added Ms Sherratt. “We did some food-based activities as well, such as making pizza dough and giving the families ingredients to make their own pizzas and all the things needed to make smores at home.”
Ms Sherratt set up the organisation after volunteering with the Grub Club – a Norreys-based group that supports families who normally access free school meals over the holidays – last summer.
“I helped at The Grub Club last year and thought it was brilliant,” she said.
“I looked for a Woodley one, but couldn’t find anything. So that’s why I decided to set it up, there are children in as much need here.
“It was a culmination of things really, but I just had it in my mind that Woodley needed something like this.”
She added: “We learnt as we went, and ended up with quite a streamlined system towards the end.
“I’d like to make a model of what we’ve done to help set up more projects elsewhere. We didn’t manage to reach everyone and we know there is more need out there.
“But it’s good to learn the ropes before expanding too much.”
Woodley Lunch Bunch volunteers left each family with a bag of food for the upcoming week as the summer holidays ended.
Ms Sherratt added: “I’d like to thank all the volunteers who made, packed and delivered all of the lunches – they’re at the core of it, they’ve given up their own time and petrol to help.
“Also thanks to Wokingham United Charities, Woodley Baptist Church, Tesco Bags of Help and Freely Fruity who have all helped us.
“And Just Around the Corner and Our Community First, who’ve helped us with banking.”
During the October half term, Woodley Lunch Bunch may see a helping hand from Matt Rodda MP, whose constituency includes parts of Woodley and Earley.
“He came down to visit us, had a chat with our volunteers and was really supportive,” added Ms Sherratt. “He said he’d like to come back and volunteer with us some time.”
Ms Sherratt said she’d like to connect with more local charities, as she believes they can all benefit from talking to each other in their goal to help people across the borough.
