Over the past month Alice Gilderdale, our Information and Engagement Officer, worked closely with students at Cambridge University Embrace, organising a campaign to support our homeless neighbours by raising awareness and gathering donations.
As the academic year came to a close, we worked with a range of Cambridge colleges to collect food donations from students returning home. The donations were organised by Embrace and delivered to the distribution centre run by Cambridge Sustainable Food.
The donations will be sent to the seven food hubs across the city, providing help to any residents who are in need. As we’re facing a cost of living crisis, many more residents may depend on support from these vital organisations. For further information on the food hubs and their opening hours, visit Street Support Cambridgeshire.
The team are really proud to announce that the food donated weighed a total of 662kg, over half a ton! Thank you to undergraduate and graduate students at Corpus, Pembroke, Trinity Hall, St Catharine’s, Jesus, Girton and Robinson.
We must also thank the wonderful staff and volunteers at Cambridge Sustainable Food who’ve collected, weighed, and distributed donations. While this was a one-off donation drive, all these local organisations are running throughout the year.
It is exciting to see connections being formed between students and local organisations, and we are looking forward to building on these over the coming year. We’re hoping that this kind of project is one that can be run more consistently throughout the academic year. We will need further coordination with local groups, volunteers, and student reps to ensure it can be maintained while students are moving through the university.
Further information about support in the city is available on the Street Support Cambridgeshire website. You can also find places to donate and organisations looking for volunteers here.
If you are a student and would like to find out how you can support our work, please contact alice@ittakesacity.org.uk
