Street Feeding & Volunteering

Street Feeding - It's been a while since I last went down to help out with the In Touch Foundation team but this evening I joined them in Bradford City Centre to serve food to over 70 people in the drizzly rain.

I was expecting that it would be pretty much the same people who I had served at the Curry Circle last Thursday (see my recent post) but sadly there were only approximately 5-6 people that had also been there. It worries me that there are so many people in Bradford in need of a basic essential - a hot meal.

Think about it as you read this. Imagine having to queue up among a crowd of other people wondering if there will be enough food for you, wondering what it is, wondering if it will keep you filled until your next meal. 

There is a reason why the food is served on the street out in the open and that is because the food is taken to where the people in need are and where they congregate. 

It saddened me to see people I know, people I don't know and people who have disabilities or addictions. There were people from every different background - young, old, male, female. People who didn't want to talk and didn't raise their eyes and people who wanted the interaction and a bit of human contact and a genuine, caring, smile. 

After all the guests have eaten their fill - firsts, seconds and takeaways if wanted, all the volunteers are encouraged to eat. It's a beautiful act of fellowship and togetherness as well as ensuring that there is zero food waste.

Volunteering - What I did love however, both about this evening with the In Touch Foundation group and the Muslim Women's Council - Curry Circle group, is that the volunteers are all truly amazing individuals also drawn from every background - also young, old, male, female, different faith backgrounds and none. This evening I met teachers, charity workers, supermarket workers and degree students from all over our District and beyond. Some people who live elsewhere but work or study in Bradford and then stay late to help serve.

The volunteers in our District do Bradford proud. There are so many people who give of themselves to serve others and in so doing they are making our community a very special place to be.