Is ham pork? Is a prune a fruit or a vegetable? Does a steak and kidney pie have pork in it? Is rhubarb sweet or savoury?

All these questions and more were answered at the Southwark Foodbank this morning.

Southwark Foodbank has had an influx of donations over Christmas. In addition, the political news of last week has resulted in even more donations than usual, as the public anticipate more need for foodbanks over the next five years (make of that what you will...)

Three keen GoodGymers therefore volunteered to help sort the mound of donations into different categories so they could be best distributed to local people in need this festive period.

After some confusion about start time, Philippa, Abi and I got to work alongside Lindsey, Emma, Trevor, Kevin and Richard, the regular warehouse volunteers. There were some interesting donations - some more conventional than others, and we all developed cravings for various tinned food items across the morning (rice pudding and custard, more so than spam and fray bentos)

The highlight of the morning was the arrival of a police riot van, full to the brim with donations from local police stations. We (mainly Abi) were very excited to have our picture taken with the police officers.

It was a really enjoyable task - although depressing that foodbanks still exist in 2019, we met some really wonderful volunteers who dedicate their time all year round to this good cause. We all agreed we'd be back to help again.

The next GoodGym session will be in January but the Foodbank needs volunteers any Monday to Thursday, 9.30am-1pm, so if you're interested in volunteering another time, email me and I'll put you in touch with the manager.