OUR TEAM

(vOLUNTEER) bOARD OF tRUSTEES

Diana

I had been a volunteer at one of our Foodbanks for a few months when I saw the Trustee role advertised in the newsletter and thought of applying. I had previously headed up a Health and Social Care (Third Sector) organisation and as part of that had been invited to be one of Edinburgh’s Poverty Commissioners between 2018 and 2020 so had learnt a lot about poverty in Edinburgh, and the whole range of work Edinburgh- based organisations do, to support people struggling to cope. When I retired I was keen to stay involved in this area of work.

Diana

Nino

I was delighted to be appointed Trustee Treasurer in March 2022. I am a Chartered Accountant (Retired) by discipline but have spent the last 45 years running my own businesses which range from Electronic Enclosures to Last Mile Deliveries. I am semi-retired now and was looking for a local worthwhile organisation to be involved with when the Treasurers position became available. It is an honour to be involved in Edinburgh Food Project both for the tremendous good it does locally and the truly wonderful people who work there.

Nino (Treasurer)

Gary

David

David’s a ‘Foodie’ with a career spent in Catering, Foodservice and Food Marketing together with Third Sector experience as a Trustee and Volunteer with The Food Train. He joined EFP as a Trustee in September 2022 and looks forward to the Charity’s further development in testing times.

David

Emma (Chair)

I have been involved with Edinburgh Food project from the beginning. I first got involved after hearing that people in an affluent city in Edinburgh were going hungry, which to me is totally unacceptable. Whilst we have grown over the years, our ambition has always been to provide food for the people who are hungry.

I have worked for over 20 years in the third sector, most recently I have been running my own consultancy business and provide change management, project management and business development consultancy to Charities and Social Enterprises throughout Scotland. In addition to my role at Edinburgh Food project, I am also Chair of Edinburgh Social Enterprise.

Emma (Chair)

Bob

“Bob Gould was for 40 years a member of the School of Chemistry at the University of Edinburgh, and is a priest in the Scottish Episcopal Church. He has served as a trustee of the Grassmarket Mission, as a founding board member of the Grassmarket Community Project, and as a member of two Lothian Health Board Ethics Committees. He has served as secretary or treasurer for several scientific, religious and musical societies. He is currently a team leader of the Grassmarket foodbank of E.F.P.”

Bob

Amanda

Amanda Livingstone joined as a Trustee in 2019. She brings many years of experience in retail, transport and change leadership. Passionate about helping people in crisis and advocating for those in need, Amanda aims to provide a mixture of hands on support and governance to the Edinburgh Food Project. She also previously volunteered as an independent expert on the Corporate Programme Board for Historic Environment Scotland and is presently employed as a Senior Programme Manager in the financial sector.

Amanda

employees

Edinburgh Food Project is an accredited Living Wage Employer. This means that every member of staff working for Edinburgh Food Project will earn a real Living Wage.

The real Living Wage is higher than the government’s minimum, or National Living Wage, and is an independently calculated hourly rate of pay that is based on the actual cost of living. It is calculated each year and is announced by the Living Wage Foundation as part of Living Wage Week.

Dawn

How long have you worked for Edinburgh Food Project?

I have been employed by Edinburgh Food Project since March 2018.

What does your role involve?

I manage three projects for the charity, More than Food, Money Advice Service and most recently, our Community based Mental Health project. All three projects bring together staff, volunteers and support agencies to identify, plan and deliver support services for clients who access our food bank centres.

What is your favourite part of your job?

Getting to meet and work with individuals and agencies who are committed to supporting and empowering our local communities.

What advice would you give a new member of the team on their first day?

Take a deep breath and dive straight in!

Dawn Macleod

Business Development Lead

I used to work in fundraising for a range of social charities, but around 11 years ago decided to retrain as an accountant. After working for an accountancy practice for 5 years I was happy to be able to move back into the charity world as a Finance Manager for Edinburgh Children’s Hospital Charity. After a brief spell as Finance Manager for an environmental charity, I am delighted to be working at Edinburgh Food Project.

Anna Browne

Finance Lead

Bethany

I have been employed since February 2016, but before that I was a volunteer for about a year.

What does your role involve?

A little bit of everything really. I support the staff team in managing the different aspects of the charity (foodbanks, warehouse, Money Advice Service and More than Food), which can mean anything from writing funding applications for a project to delivering a food parcel to a client.

What is your favourite part of your job?

It is never boring! I have been with Edinburgh Food Project over 4 years and I can honestly say two days have never been the same.

What advice would you give a new member of the team on their first day?

Layer up – the warehouse is freezing!

Bethany Biggar

Director

Rhona Thompsell

Operations Lead

Sheila

Sheila Sneddon, Volunteer Manager.

How long have you worked for Edinburgh Food Project?

I started working for Edinburgh Food Project at the end of November 2018.

What does your role involve?

Most of my time is spent recruiting and training our volunteers and keeping track of the volunteering schedule. There are over 200 people who regularly volunteer with the charity and we couldn’t function without them. It’s my job to make sure that volunteering with us is a fulfilling and rewarding experience – and that we always have the right people in the right place at the right time!

What is your favourite part of your job?

The variety! I can be doing a foodbank training session one day and driving a van the next. The staff and volunteer teams are very committed and motivated and I really enjoy the feeling of achieving something together as a team.

What advice would you give a new member of the team on their first day?

We are constantly evolving, so expect change.

Sheila Sneddon

Food Provision Manager

Astro

Astro McLaughlin

Welfare Rights Adviser

Frank

How long have you worked for Edinburgh Food Project?

4th October 2021

What does your role involve?

Welfare Rights, Benefits and Debt Advice for people who access the foodbank centres.

What is your favourite part of your job?

Achieving financial gain for clients

What advice would you give a new member of the team on their first day?

Focus on getting to know the Edinburgh Food Project and don’t be apprehensive about asking questions.

Frank Riley

Welfare Rights Adviser

Calvin

Calvin Lee

Business Support Admin

Willie

Willie Sheridan

Inventory Controller

Susan

Susan Smith

Triage Adviser

Sarah

Sarah Middlemiss

Triage Adviser

Jillian

Jillian Martin

Triage Adviser

Volunteers

Investing in Volunteers is the UK standard for good practice in volunteer management. Edinburgh Food Project is, and always has been powered by volunteers and we wanted to achieve the standard to show our commitment to and appreciation of our volunteers. We also wanted to take the opportunity to reflect on our processes and learn from other organisations.

In October 2021, after completing and reviewing our self assessment, providing supporting documents and going through hours of interviews we achieved the Investing in Volunteers award.

Anne

I’ve been a volunteer for 2.5 years now,

I wanted to volunteer because I was no longer working but felt that I still had energy and some skills that would enable me to give back to my community.

Why the food project, I wish we were not needed, I wish that we had a more equitable society that ensured that everyone’s needs for food, clothing & shelter was met, but this is sadly not the case so I wanted to give my time, my skills to a group that is providing vital assistance to people in need.

I work in Broughton Foodbank, we try to make people feel welcome, pre COVID we would offer tea/coffee & a chat, but because of COVID we’re not able to offer this, so even with our masks on, we try to smile & make people feel welcome. During my 2hr shift I’ll do whatever is needed, so I could be welcoming people at the door, logging them into our system or I could be distributing the food or toiletries all the while trying to smile through my mask

Advice for someone’s 1st day, don’t worry your team will help you and answer any questions you might have, smile and enjoy your shift.

Anne

Foodbank Volunteer

Suzanne

I have been a volunteer with Edinburgh Food Project for about 6 years now. I help out at supermarket collections on weekends, which involves handing out leaflets in larger supermarkets with our ‘wish list’ of items, accepting donations from shoppers and answering any questions people have about the foodbank and how it operates. During the first lockdown I was furloughed and I volunteered four days a week coordinating text referrals and home deliveries to ensure clients could still receive the help they needed when they couldn’t get paper vouchers from their support agency or access a foodbank centre.

My favourite part is interacting with the public and explaining the positive impact EFP makes in the community. Many people are surprised by the variety of support that we offer and how the focus is on addressing the underlying cause of food poverty as opposed to providing a short-term fix. Supermarket collections are not just about donations, they’re also an opportunity to increase awareness. I would advise new volunteers to ask lots of questions! The more you know about what EFP has to offer to clients and how everything works, the more confident you’ll be at interacting with the public.

Suzanne

Supermarket Volunteer

Marjory

I have volunteered at the Warehouse for about 4 years, having retired from my post in Edinburgh University Library. In an ideal world, there would be no need for Foodbanks, but sadly we see more and more people from all walks of life finding that they have to choose between feeding their families and heating the house. It must take great courage for them to make that initial approach for help, so the least I can do is be a small part of that service.

I have always been happier in a “behind the scenes” role rather than in customer service, so the Warehouse fits this perfectly.

The warehouse serves as a hub for donations of food, toiletries and household cleaning items. These donations come from individuals, supermarkets, workplaces and organisations such as churches, and after various processes, it’s from the warehouse that food packs are delivered to the various Foodbank Distribution Centres across the City.

After being weighed in as incoming stock, donations are split into their categories – food, household etc. All packets and tins of food have to be marked with the “Use by” date, sorted into type of food and then sorted by date to enable strict stock control. I guess that it’s a case of “Once a librarian……” because instead of sorting catalogue cards as I did before computers, it’s now sorting tins of tomatoes or packets of pasta! Happy as Larry! At the end of the process, volunteers make up 3-day packs of food to be sent out to the distribution centres.

I would say, try us out. Just go with the flow! You won’t learn everything at once – even we more established volunteers are constantly coming upon new procedures, and yes, we do make mistakes! Everyone is very friendly and it’s great having the chance to put the world to right or just have a chat while sorting out tins of rice pudding or packets of biscuits.

Marjory

Warehouse Volunteer

Gary

Length of time with project? about 2 years

Why I got involved?

I was looking for volunteer work that I could see directly benefit people, I don’t like big charities with management layers and marketing departments. EFP is a very lean and well run operation, everyone has a function and we all make a difference

What’s involved?

I drive the van full of food packages to the distribution centres and unload it with my van buddy. We then visit donation points and pack food donated into crates to load it onto the van and bring it back to the warehouse.

What do I like the most?

I really like the physical side of the work because I was an office worker, I also like chewing the fat with my buddy and meeting the staff at the centres

Gary

Transport Volunteer

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