‘It was the best of times, it was the worst of times’… whilst the pandemic has been incredibly tough, it has also shone a spotlight on some brilliant volunteer work, undertaken by teams and individuals within communities across the UK, working hard to support community members who need some extra help. At The Safer Food Group, we are very lucky to work with some of these fantastic groups and organisations – including Smith’s Community Support in Ayr.

Smith’s Community Support is a drop-in centre and café, created by Agnes Smith and her team to provide a hub for those who need support and advice, cake and cuppa or just a chat and friendly face. Smith’s Community Support is based within the Tsukure Hub CIC, itself an innovative community project which takes a creative approach to engaging local people and giving them the opportunity to learn new skills. The centre has had many roles during the last year, including a food redistribution point, a cookery school for families on low budgets, an advice centre and a space for community members to volunteer and learn in a working kitchen environment.

The centre is financially self-supporting, running regular fundraising activities in order to continue providing its essential services – which is why The Safer Food Group were keen to help with training courses to enable the volunteers work safely in the kitchen. Once Agnes had tested our courses for herself, she set her team the task of passing their Level 2 Food Safety and Allergy awareness courses. These courses not only enable the team to operate safely within the centre, but they also provide accredited certificates for the volunteers to demonstrate their skills as they seek paid employment.

Like many volunteer organisations, Smith’s and Tsukure have grasped the opportunity to give something back to their volunteers, by focussing on the employment and life skills that they can pass on. We wish Smith’s Community Support , Tsukure Hub CIC and all our voluntary sector partners the best of luck with everything they do, and hope they can continue with the vital work they are doing in rebuilding and strengthening their community.