Although it has been a challenging year to run the Your Local Pantry Dusty Forge, our great volunteer team has enabled us to continue to grow this project has been more ‘in demand’ than ever.  We are very pleased to be included in this year’s ‘Your Local Pantry Social Impact Report 2021 – Dignity, Choice, Hope’. There are some great stories and information in the document on how well the network is doing, including Vikki’s Story, a Your Local Pantry Dusty Forge member.

Vikki’s story

Vikki joined Dusty Forge Pantry in Cardiff a year ago, when she was pregnant with her first child. She has a special diet and was relieved to find the Pantry caters for her needs.

“I don’t drive and as a full-time carer to an elderly parent I quite often had difficulty sourcing easy to prepare foods for myself locally as I am coeliac and vegan. Despite being in quite a small minority food group, Pantry has been fabulous as there is always something there each week I can eat when it’s difficult to shop further afield.

“It’s also helped with our household’s weekly food costs as with me being vegan and coeliac and my dad being somewhat of a picky eater, it quite often means my having to prepare separate meals as opposed to one family meal which made shopping on a tight budget tricky.

“My son is now almost one year old and enjoys his Pantry visits. We often come away with some of his favourite fruits and veggies and it’s helped him eat well through weaning. 

“Being a carer I also enjoy my weekly visit as outside of the current social distancing measures it was nice to be able to sit and chat with fellow community members whilst waiting our turn. Caring can be isolating so anything that gives you an outlet to meet and chat to others in a friendly environment is a bonus. The staff are lovely and always welcoming, I look forward to continuing my membership through pregnancy number 2 and hopefully volunteering myself eventually!”