HELP US MAKE A DIFFERENCE
So far, we have partnered with a range of different organisation to deliver our service. We identify and contact vulnerable families in partnership with schools. We deliver food boxes in partnership with local mutual aid and other volunteer groups. We source our food in partnership with Exeter Food Action and other producers and suppliers. We are looking to develop new partnerships to help us support more families
Volunteers are absolutely critical to the way we operate, and we are currently looking for more volunteers to help us deliver more boxes to more families. Current volunteering opportunities include:
- Delivery Drivers: Our deliveries go out from our depot in Bradninch between 11am and 4pm on Mondays. Volunteer drivers must have their own car and an insurance policy that covers them for using their car to make volunteer deliveries. Our experience so far is that most policies will cover this without any additional premium to pay, you just need to let the insurance company know. Deliver drivers need to be able to commit to availability on a Monday a week in advance, and need to be comfortable with lifting food boxes in and out of their car. (Manual handling training will be provided.)
- Food collection: In addition to the food we source through Exeter Food Action and other partners, we purchase some items for our boxes from ALDI, with collection on Sunday afternoons. Collection volunteers must have their own car and an insurance policy that covers them for using their car as a volunteer. Our experience so far is that most policies will cover this without any additional premium to pay, you just need to let the insurance company know. Collection volunteers need to be able to commit to availability on a Sunday afternoon a week in advance, and need to be comfortable with lifting food boxes in and out of their car. (Manual handling training will be provided.)
If you would like to volunteer with Catch 77, please get in touch via volunteers@catch77.org
We are proud to be working alongside schools in our district, reaching out to those in need, right on our doorstep. We started the service in partnership with Duchy Pre-school, Duchy School & Cullompton Community College. We can’t wait to continue growing our team… and thanks to our volunteers and like-minded foodies, we are expanding everyday to offer our support to even more families who require our help.
If you are a school wishing to join us – please don’t hesitate to get in contact with us. Together we can make a difference!
Our Family Food Box service aims to support families through providing food packages for those who need them the most. Schools know their children and their family circumstances well, and we are working with schools to identify vulnerable families on our behalf and contact them about the service.
The initial criteria is families eligible for free school meals. However, we understand that schools are keeping in close contact with families through the lockdown, so will take advice from schools about other families who would benefit from the food boxes.
Contacting families
Our standard process is for schools to write to families on FSM (+/- others they identify as in need) to let them know about the service, and provide our contact details for people interested to get in touch with us to request food boxes.
We collect information from families and schools through a secure online form, and store and use data solely for the purpose of providing the food box service, in accordance with our Privacy Policy.
Find more information about the Family Food Boxes here
We rely on the help of volunteers and local volunteer groups to pack up and deliver our family food boxes. If you or and group you represent would like to get involved in helping us deliver food boxes to families in your community, please get in touch using the form.
We are incredibly grateful to Bradninch Together, a mutual aid organisation of over 100 volunteers helping people in need during the Covid-19 outbreak in Bradninch. Their volunteers are making deliveries for us, making it possible for us to get our boxes out to families that need them.
We are very grateful to the Uffclume Green Team as well, as with their support we have been able to support families in Uffculme and its surrounding villages.
As we expand the service we are looking to partner with other local volunteer groups to support us to get our food boxes to more families.
We source our food through a combination of free food donated by suppliers and purchasing additional things we need to make up our full weekly family food boxes. Our main partners for our free supplies is the wonderful Exeter Food Action, and FareShare South West. Together these charities collect and make available a massive range of donated food. Without their support we wouldn’t be able to support as many people. We are also looking to partner with other food banks and organisations distributing free food, with the aim of partnering with these organisations to source the contents for our food boxes.
Most of the additional food we purchase comes from Aldi. As we extend the family food box service to more families and grow Catch 77, we are looking to develop a network of local suppliers as well. One of our aims as a Community Interest Company is to support local food producers and suppliers, by opening up additional channels for them to sell their produce.
If you are interested in partnering with us to help us source the food for our family food boxes, please drop us an email partners@catch77.org
