Drizzly weather set the scene at the South Ealing Food Cupboard today, but the team were grateful that most of the delivery arrived on a single large pallet. This meant far less trekking back and forth in the rain with trolleys!

This week's haul was very punctual and consisted of crates of beautiful pre-squashed squashes, heaps of red and green cabbages, and turnips so enormous they were perfect for either weightlifting or clobbering someone like a cartoon cave-person. The fridge section brought an abundance of orange juice, mince and sausage rolls.

It was Stef’s first GoodGym session, and she jumped straight in, hauling heavy crates and flattening cardboard likea pro. She joined Martin and Iram, who helped sort through today’s produce and prep the cupboard for distribution. Everything was done and dusted well before 11:30am!

Each Monday morning, GoodGym lend a hand to the South Ealing Food Cupboard, helping the wonderful volunteers sort surplus food for the local community. This week, Andy, Martin, and Iram were on hand to help.

While waiting for the delivery van, discussions took a surprisingly educational turn, covering everything from the diversity of banana species to the original colour of carrots (who knew food could be so philosophical before 11am?).

When the van arrived, Iram and Andy got straight to work unloading its eclectic cargo: leftover pumpkins from Halloween, Jerk Chickpea crisps, liquorice allsorts, and the food cupboard staples - crates of bread, carrots and cabbages. Some of carrots were black so needed a good sort. Overall, it was a smaller haul than usual, with no fridge items this week, but this turned out to be a blessing as everything on hand needed to go!

Martin hulked out, moving heavy crates of veg and even lifting a pumpkin above his head - wow! Not to be beaten, Andy showed us all up by expertly balancing a pumpkin on his head... he truly is the MVP!

P.S. no pumpkins were harmed in the making of this food cupboard.

This week’s session was a real topsy-turvy one full of surprises, snacks and a serious amount of cheese!

Things started with the "second" delivery turning up before the "first" - an uncharacteristically early arrival just before 10:30am! Then came a huge drop-off from a local school’s Autumn Harvest collection, packed with donated tins and dry goods, as well as the regular bread delivery. By the time the "first" delivery finally rolled in around noon, there was barely any shelf space left! Crates of tinned food had to be stacked and stored for next week. A lovely problem to have.

Among the fresh goods were an abundance of M&S cheese, wafer-thin ham and (of course) more satsumas than anyone knew what to do with. There was plenty of tropical fruit, including two mystery items which were eventually identified as guavas with the help of Google Lens. Between deliveries, the team refuelled with ginger shots and tea to keep spirits high.

Thaiza joined regulars, Martin and Iram, and threw herself straight into the action, becoming a cardboard-crushing, crate-unloading, tin-sorting superstar. It was an unpredictable morning, but was full of cheddar-based cheer!

Each Monday morning, GoodGym lend a hand to the South Ealing Food Cupboard, helping the brilliant team of volunteers prepare surplus food for the local community. This week, Martin and Iram’s help was especially valuable, the volunteer numbers were a little thin on the ground! For a while it looked like it would just be three of us tackling the heavy lifting, but luckily one more volunteer arrived just as the van pulled up. And just in time, it was a bumper load, completely filling the van. In fact, the driver hadn’t even managed to fit everything in!

As we began unloading, we were met with an unexpected challenge: a wave of rebellious limes making a break for freedom, rolling across the van and down onto the pavement. There was also a heart-stopping moment when a trolley, laden with food, toppled over... but apart from a couple of unlucky yoghurt pots, there were no major casualties.

The haul itself was a good one: piles of cabbages and green beans, a fridge full of yoghurt, boxes of loose sausage rolls and lots of other goodies. Thanks to teamwork, quick thinking, and a dash of lime-chasing agility, everything was unloaded and sorted by midday.