We are thrilled to be working in partnership with Castle Hill Community Centre Trust to create a new Food Bank to support the community. Based at Castle Hill Community Centre, Highfield Road, to help families in need during this National Emergency. 

We are called the Community Pantry

The idea behind our Fresh Food Friday project was provide fresh fruit and veg to complement the ambient goods local food banks provided.

Before this crisis period of Covid-19 forced them into isolation, many of our local churches ran food banks and lunch clubs and the idea was to support them but sadly they had to close due to the majority of their volunteers being forced into isolation.Obviously the need was still there, and as the weeks passed it was evident that that need was growing rapidly.

We decided we needed to learn quickly how food banks worked! Luckily we were welcomed into the Food Bank world by organisations like FareShare, Asda, The Bus Shelter, Morrisons & Nansen Road Baptist Church and we will always be grateful for their support. 

We linked with Suffolk County and Ipswich Borough Council’s as well as numerous other local organisations to reach people in need.

Whilst the Community Centre remained closed to the public under government rules, they have permitted food bank teams to work and we are happy to report we have managed to meet all the referrals made to us thanks to the generosity of donations, including private ones.

If you need urgent support with food please contact Home but not Alone, this is supporting vulnerable people in Suffolk on 0800 876 6926

If you wish to donate any items we will be able to accept these on Mondays starting 18th May between 09:30 and 11:00 at Castle Hill Community Centre.

Please leave any donations in the main entrance porch just inside the red doors so we are observing social distancing. We would welcome any in-date, ambient goods but unfortunately we are not able to store fresh goods or items that need to be refrigerated or frozen.

When the coronavirus hit we knew there would be many families in our community in need of support, now more than ever, from help getting groceries and prescriptions through to dog walking and all sorts in-between.

We are hearing lots of, sometimes quite harrowing, stories of people who are in real need of help. Many of which were in employment before the crisis but now find themselves without sufficient funds to feed themselves or have no one to shop for them. Some are recovering from major surgery or living with a life limiting condition and others simply struggle every day to make ends meet.

We learnt that some of our local food banks had to close temporarily because the very volunteers that used to run them are themselves now in isolation but we have linked up with others across Ipswich that are still operating and doing an amazing job. However, most of the supplies tend to be dry goods so we thought it would be a good idea to provide fresh fruit and vegetables to those in need so that people can have a more balanced and healthier diet. Fresh Food Friday does just that.

We identify those in most need by a referral process through charitable organisations, Ipswich Borough Council and schools, confirm they live in our area of Whitton Whitehouse and Castle Hill and meet our other criteria and then place an order with local greengrocers such as Kays in Meredith Road who have been incredibly patient and kind, going the extra mile to help the community at a time when they are already dealing with an unprecedentedly high volume of customers.

We include information about the NW Ipswich Big Local Trust Community Garden in the food boxes too so that when this situation is past and we can move around again, people know where to go to learn about growing their own food.

There’s also a wildlife garden with bug piles and bird feeders, craft activities and BBQ’s, there’s a cottage garden, pond and so much more. We share the crops and it’s all free!

Lyndsey Young of The Friendly Bench CIC speaks to Radio Suffolk’s Lesley Dolphin

When we were told the amazing news that our application for a Friendly Bench had been successful we were thrilled. We know from extensive research, and by chatting to local people, that a lot of us experience feelings of isolation or loneliness in our day.

Add to that traumas such as bereavement, divorce, drug related issues, mental and physical health problems, being new to the community etc, life can be incredibly hard.

If we don’t have someone that we can share our inner most thoughts and feelings with it can sometimes seem impossible to cope.

The idea behind The Friendly Bench CIC was the brainchild of Lyndsey Young, a working mum from Leicestershire who experienced first hand feeling lonely and recognised that there would be others in her community feeling a similar way and she decided she could do something about it.

The Friendly Bench is an integrated seating and planted area that is just beautiful. It is fully accessible and a place that anyone can visit and enjoy, perhaps see another friendly face, someone to chat with, even if it’s just to remark on the weather to begin with. Just that physical act of being outside and speaking to another human being can make all the difference to someones day.

By popular request, North West Ipswich Big Local Trust held our second Fun Dog Show at Castle Hill Park on Sunday, 8 September.

Following on from last year’s success, the NWI BLT Events Team, ably assisted by a number of volunteers and Ipswich Borough Council Parks, decided to repeat the show with a slightly different slant.

As well as having a large number of entries into the usual dog show, it was decided to expand the offering and invite organisations who had a more specific use for our four legged friends, showing the great work they do and how specially trained dogs improve the lives of many people who suffer from a variety of needs and disabilities.

We were lucky enough to be joined by guide dogs for the blind and hearing dogs as well as the RSPCA who re home dogs, matching them carefully to new owners.  It was fascinating to speak to the guide and hearing dogs owners and learn how their dogs had transformed their lives.

One was a young working family man who was profoundly deaf and had all the electronic gizmos going to improve his and his family’s quality of life.  But when he got his hearing dog his life changed for the better almost overnight.  He had so many wonderful stories about how his dog gave him and his family the independence he hadn’t experienced before.

All these organisations are charities and depend for their existence on donations.  We will divide all the money made at the event between the 3 organisations who took up the offer to attend.

We were lucky enough to have good weather and the judging in the dog show was great fun to watch with all ages showing off their dogs, much to the delight of the crowd.  The winners were presented with rosettes by the experienced judge and it was good to see many young people taking part.

We would like to thank everyone who contributed by way of their time and organisations who donated prizes for the draw etc.

Another very successful event for the team – so what next?  Would you like the Dog Show to become an annual event or if you have any ideas of what you would like to see happen in the NWI BLT area (Whitton, Whitehouse and Castle Hill) please let us know on facebook, twitter or using our contact form.

The North West Ipswich Community Garden has, thanks to NW Ipswich BLT, taken delivery of a Double Disabled Raised Bed suitable for 2 wheelchair users.

“We are well impressed with the disabled raised bed that we commissioned ActivSheds to make – it is bespoke so we had exactly what we wanted made to suit our wheelchair users. The wood used is very strong with metal underneath to strengthen the top surface. The raised bed is wide enough to have 2 electric wheelchair users underneath it at once side by side. Users can now plant their own seeds & tend to them at their special station having all the hand tools available including small watering cans”

The build is superb as is the workmanship – the attention to detail and thought that has gone into it from ActivSheds volunteers is fantastic they truly are a very talented bunch.  The bed was made at Maidenhall Allotments where ActivSheds is based they had to dismantle it to transport it and put it back together when they delivered it.

 “ActivSheds have been brilliant they have adhered to everything we wanted and given us a couple of extra features that we hadn’t thought of – Becca & Sam our current electric wheelchair users both have a place to put their drinks and their phones away from all the dirt & mess.”

Janet Vinnicombe, Community Garden Project Manager

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The NWIBLT Community Garden meets every Wednesday & Sunday from 10am – 12 Noon and is based within Castle Hill Allotments between Larchcroft Rd & Ashcroft Rd.

We welcome any new volunteers and visitors whether they have experience or not – the main idea for the garden is to help improve health & well being for our members so they make new friends, learn new skills, enjoy the fresh air and share in the produce. 

Anyone interested in becoming a volunteer please contact Janet on 07851912765 or Tracey on 07739516384.