Who we are:

The Place at Platt Lane is a vibrant community resource centre in the heart of Fallowfield. The Place is a charity, managed by a committee made up of members of the community. With a focus on health and well-being and improving the lives of all those in the local community, The Place also hosts the local community library. 

The Place at Platt Lane are pleased to announce the expansion of our successful Community Grocer Project. We have secured funding to enable us to open the Grocer on Saturdays in addition to our Friday sessions. This will enable us to support another 40 households within the local community to join our affordable food scheme to make ends meet, providing around £15 worth of fresh groceries, dairy/chilled products, tinned & dry food per week.

Our members pay £3 per session for the Grocery shop and have the option to also purchase essential hygiene products for an additional £3. These items can include Toilet roll, deodorant, toothpaste etc. The membership fee goes back into the project and helps to pay FareShare, a national charity who provide high quality surplus food with a mission to tackle food poverty & prevent waste, who we buy most of our food from. We also buy from leading supermarkets such as Asda & Sainsburys to ensure we can provide families we enough choice of products to make healthy meals.

What are we looking for?

We are looking for volunteers to join our team to help us with unloading deliveries of food & helping to restock the pantry & Fridges on Thursdays ready for our Saturday grocer sessions.

• This is a practical role therefore, you must be confident in your ability, reasonably fit and in good health as you will be lifting/carrying stock and shelving the items and be involved in the moving and handling of deliveries.
• Able to follow direction and procedures and work as part of a team.
• Have good reading and numeracy skills to be able to read labels, identify items and shelve them correctly.
• Able to maintain high standards of health & safety and food hygiene standards at all times.
• Must be reliable and punctual and able to commit to your agreed times.

What would you be doing as a volunteer?

This role isn’t a customer facing role – You will be undertaking a variety of practical tasks, including taking receipt of & unloading the delivery of food delivered by FareShare & local supermarkets and restocking our pantry and Fridge/Freezers ready for the community Grocer shop to open the next day. Moving extra stock & cabinets to our store rooms etc.

Time Commitment: - Thursdays.

There may be some room to adjust hours, to be discussed upon coming in for a chat.

Benefits:

• You will receive a full induction and will complete some mandatory training such as Moving & Handling, Food Hygiene & Health & Safety.
• Travel expenses – Day rider bus pass issued for those who use public transport.
• Gain experience of working in a team and being a part of a valued community project that makes a positive difference to families & members of the local community.

Our Community Grocer would not be possible without the dedication of our volunteers. If you are a interested in helping your local community, making a difference to peoples life’s and wish to gain new skills, meet new people or improve your confidence please get in touch.