Full of Christmas spirit 6 GoodGymers were up bright and early to help at the pop up Christmas shop for clients of the Kingston Pantry.

GoodGym split themselves between being personal shoppers (Anna, Petra & Julie) and restocking the shelves (Dave, Julie, Saber & Claire) with wonderful gifts including Lego, toiletry sets, cool boxes, dolls, remote control cars and even robotic snakes!

Personal shopping allowed us to meet the clients and take them around the different sections where they could select a set number of gifts. As the gifts were snapped up the shelves were quickly restocked by the team.

Meanwhile Claire put together gift packages of toys, books and clothes for some very young children being looked after by another charity this Christmas.

The Pantry's clients were delighted with their selections as it meant they could provide gifts for their families this Christmas.

This evening it was all about prioritisation with a small but eager team. Having run, walked and cycled our way to the pantry we were treated with cool drinks which went down a treat.

We focussed on the key tasks of cleaning the fridges which Claire and Marcus took on, cleaning the sinks which Farzeen made sparkle and cleaning the fruit and veg area which Susan spruced up. This was followed by cleaning the ever sugary and floury baking shelves and hoovering and mopping.

Having completed all our tasks in record time we enjoyed viewing and learning about the art created by some of the clients as part of a project undertaken by the Pantry.

We got properly stuck in at tonight’s task at The Kingston Pantry—a vital community foodbank based in Tolworth Recreation Centre.

Four of us ran there, two cycled, and others came on foot — everyone enthusiastic to be there, including first time GoodGymer Petra.

The Pantry had been restocked earlier in the day, so our usual deep clean wasn’t needed. But Susan, ever prepared, whipped out her trusty spiral notebook packed with 'one-day' tasks—the little jobs that never quite make it to the top of the to-do list… until now.

Here’s what we tackled: • Emma and Petra deep-cleaned and organised the cupboard under the sink, and gave all the food baskets a good wash. • Claire and Jacqui took on the fridges, clearing out spills (including a sticky raspberry juice situation). • Jana sorted out the vegetable racks • Dave got into the nooks and crannies, scrubbing those corners the mop usually misses. • Luke restocked and cleaned the pet food area • Rachel and Emma gave the stationery cupboard a long-overdue tidy. • Jacqui got the hoover out and • Petra followed up with a thorough mop for a gleaming finish.

Teamwork and elbow grease, and the job list was fully ticked off!

The Kingston Pantry plays a crucial role in supporting individuals and families on low incomes trying to cope in a time of rising costs. It was a pleasure to lend a hand, free up the volunteers’ time, so that those that run it can give their clients the best experience which includes a very high environmental health status.

GG Kingston's quarterly(ish) visit to the Kingston Pantry this evening... always met with a warm welcome by the steadfast Susan who runs this fantastic foodbank.

Our task was to give the store a deep clean. Items off the shelves, shelves wiped down, items replaced and repeat. The fridges were given a decent cleanse then floors swept, vacuumed and mopped. Everything was sparkling by the time we were done!

To reward us for our troubles, Susan had brought hot chocolate and biscuits... just the ticket after putting the effort in on a cold night.

Welcome and congrats to Jacqui on your first GoodGym! Hope to see you for another soon.

It was back to the Tolworth Recreation Centre on a muggy Tuesday for our regular clean-up of the Kingston Pantry, the area's foodbank. Shelves needed re-arranging and wiping, tackled with enthusiasm by Ben, Hazel, Jana and Rachel while Tom volunteered to don the plastic gloves and separate frozen pastries into small bags. Some rapid hoovering by Claire and we were done.

Susan, who runs the foodbank, is always delighted to see us and even furnished the group with Cadburys Time Outs, which none of us could remember having for ages. A fine reward for a rewarding task.

We had a damp start to the evening with a rainy run/walk/cycle to get to the task. Claire, Luke and Dave ran, Emily walked and Jana cylced. Tonight we were at The Kingston Pantry in Tolworth, helping them with their quarterly deep clean.

We arrived at the task and waited for the task owner. After a few minutes, we realised something wasn't quite right whilst we were still waiting... a few calls and texts later, we managed to get the code for the Pantry and let ourselves in to start on the clean. Fortunately most of us had been there previously so knew the layout and what needed to be done. A few minutes more and we were greeted by an apologetic and thankful task owner Susan. Life had gotten in the way, as it often does, and it had slipped her mind. I can completely empathise!

We smashed through the cleaning and left a sparkling Pantry in our wake. Mission accomplished.