OSCARI COMMUNITY PANTRY

Hi my name is Tracy and I am trying to raise funds so we can continue to pay our Fareshare subscription.

We are a community food pantry and food bank which covers the whole of Amber valley, plus any other service users that need us.

We saw a need in the community for low cost, high nutritional value food as the cost of living increases.

Regularly we help around 60 families a week and this equates to almost 300 people fed each week.

Oscari was formed in January 2016 set up initially as a craft group for the community to come along to.

By 2018 we not only had a craft group but also set up a very successful community cafe and children’s youth group.

We were holding regular quiz nights and the community engagement was incredible.

For three years in a row we opened up the building on Christmas day and cooked a full three course Christmas meal with presents for everyone on a pay as you can basis.

We saw 50 families come and eat with us and also gave out over 200 presents to children who otherwise would have gone without.

The pandemic hit Oscari hard and we had to ask our amazing volunteers to stay at home as it was for their safety and ours as well.

During the pandemic there were three volunteers who kept Oscari running but we had to do things a different way.

We cooked a massive 180,000 meals and delivered them to the residents of Amber valley totalling 3000 miles during the 1st year of lockdown.

January of 2022 Oscari reformed with a new team of volunteers, including two of the original members and have been rebuilding Oscari from the ground up.

Through January until April the whole team has worked on fundraising, cleaning and clearing the building and making mew connections with people.

We have successfully set up a community pantry, where shoppers pay an initial fee of £15 and the just £7.50 per week to shop thereafter. The food shop includes your cupboard staples, fresh fruit and vegetables, toiletries, sanitary wear, fridge and freezer foods.

The total value of food that each shopper gets is anywhere between £50 and £100.

Alongside this we have Citizens advice visiting every Tuesday from 10 am until 1 pm.

Of course at the heart of it all, we are here for the community and still have our food bank. This operates on an appointment basis ( to give each customer privacy and dignity) .

All monies raised will go towards paying for our Fareshare subscription for the year which is a total of £8008.00