Volunteers are at the heart of what we do

Here at Wivey Kitchen, our volunteers are at the heart of everything we do. Since we started way back in 2020, over 100 people have supported us as volunteers.

Some of them still come every week, some come along for a few hours a month, some joined for a while and then moved on to other local organisations. Each and every one of them has made what we do possible, and our Head Chefs are grateful to them all. 

We’re always interested in meeting new volunteers…for as much or as little time as they can spare us. And there is no need for any kitchen experience to be one of our volunteers!  Interested in getting g involved? There are many different things you could do, from chopping vegetables to helping with the washing up or making a pudding – you could also join our delivery team and deliver meals to people in our community or stock up our freezers in St Andrew’s church, Wiveliscombe or St Michaels church in Milverton. We currently cook every Thursday at our new kitchen at The Bear, Wiveliscombe.  

Here’s how a new volunteer, Josh, got on when he came along for the first time last month when we were working at St Andrew’s, Wiveliscombe.  

‘I felt so welcomed as I wandered into the Wivey Kitchen with my daughter, wanting to help but not having a clue. My daughter had been before with my wife, and already felt at home making the enormous proportions of food, but I was way out of my depth. Coming to the rescue, top chefs Kate and Zoe gently guided us to a pile of cheese, and before we knew it we had become part of a stuffed mushroom cooking team! A curry and a pasta dish were being prepared on other tables, all made by volunteers with donated food that otherwise would have gone to waste. 

A tea break, a shared lunch and a few hours later, my daughter and I had helped to produce three trays of salami & mozzarella pizza, two trays of fruit sponge and a pile of cheese-stuffed mushrooms. All in all, by the afternoon, Wivey Kitchen had created over 250 varied and substantial meals ready to be shared out to people in need across Wiveliscombe’s community. My daughter and I really enjoyed our morning, learned a few new cooking skills, met some fascinating people, and been part of something quite special.

And that, I think, is at the heart of Wivey Kitchen. True hospitality is not a one-way process where something needed is simply given away, but a cyclical flow of trust and generosity that nourishes a community and strengthens its vital bonds. As those lovingly packaged meals are dispersed around our neighbourhood the Wivey Kitchen is feeding more than stomachs, but spirits, and hopes, and imaginations too.’

If you want any information on becoming a volunteer, drop us a line to info@wiveykitchen.org or call Sarah, our volunteer coordinator, on 07908 226137. 

We look forward to meeting you!