Our first volunteering opportunity in the area came from an initial contact with the lovely folks at Footprints in the Community. We offered our services if they ever needed help with Food Bank Collections at the local supermarkets, something we had done many times before in London and were very comfortable doing.
Footprints in the Community runs various projects and events across the local community, multiple food banks, a cafe, and advice and information services. They also run a Dementia Support Group, Book Club, and numerous drop-in sessions. You can read lots more about them and their services on their website.
Having signed up with them as volunteers, we have already done 3 supermarket collections, which went well. There was a different level of understanding from local people about the need for food banks, how they worked and why they were needed from our experiences in London doing similar collections. Fewer people ignored us, and many tried to help by donating items from the required shopping lists.
Looking forward to the next event whenever it occurs.