09/04/2022
ST DENYS ACTIVITY GROUP FOOD PROJECT 2021
The St Denys Activity Group (SDAG) is a non-profit organisation aiming to improve mental health and wellbeing by providing activities which offer mutual support and good times.
During the COVID lockdown we kept in touch with our members via telephone.
We became aware that they were struggling with isolation and escalating heating and electrical bills because every group they attend was shut.
We were also informed that some had deteriorated in their mental health
Some were worried that SDAG may never reopen again.
Due to all the concerns we were hearing from our members, the volunteers met via Zoom to explore whether there is anything we could do to support our members. They agreed that if we were able to provide hot meals every Thursday for collection, this would support our members.
We got funding from Brighterway Charity and we were able to provide 50 meals every week.
Project Evaluation
Below are some of the comments are from the members about the food project
• The service is great and gives people an insight that there are people who are there
• Lovely and kind
• Very nice food, do appreciate all your efforts
• Superb, very welcoming, very quick
• Very quick and lovely service by volunteers
• Very delicious. Very kind and generous. Much appreciated
• I am on UC (Universal credit ) and it helps
• Helps me to manage myself better
• Help with my mental health
• Helps me to have a meal every day
• Really good to meet up again even on passing
• Meal gives me more balanced diet
• Helps me to meet other people. I miss everybody
• Helps my daughter to know that we have eaten without her having to worry
• Absolutely fantastic. My husband and I really appreciated that nice and generous supply of roast lamb and scrummy roast potatoes! We don’t have lamb that very often at all. Thank you so much.
• Excellent service. Tell Charity we are very grateful
• I love the St Denys Group. It keeps me sane. Please assist the St. Denys Group to continue
• Life saver. Very good
• Thank you Brighterway for the money you have given for the food project
• Very much grateful
• Excellent service and very friendly with it
• Very much appreciated. Has helped me a lot
• It is so wonderful what you are doing
• Very good hot ready and available
We were heartened by the positive comments from the service users. It was also good to see people face-to-face and chat briefly with them about how they were doing. Everyone asked when the group was going to reopen again. They said that they had missed the contact with each other, supports and activities.
As volunteers we were also reminded when delivering food to service users, their sense of isolation and the impact that the lockdown and their disabilities are having on them. They were very pleased to receive the food and a visit. One of our service users commented “it was really nice to see somebody even from afar as we have not been able to go out”.
It was agreed by all that despite the challenges of shopping preparing, cooking, distributing and delivering the meals, and clearing, the food project was a great success and a good way of helping our service users.
A BIG THANK YOU TO BRIGHTERWAY CHARITY .
