Each Monday morning, GoodGym lend a hand to the South Ealing Food Cupboard, helping the wonderful volunteers sort surplus food for the local community. This week, Andy, Martin, and Iram were on hand to help.

While waiting for the delivery van, discussions took a surprisingly educational turn, covering everything from the diversity of banana species to the original colour of carrots (who knew food could be so philosophical before 11am?).

When the van arrived, Iram and Andy got straight to work unloading its eclectic cargo: leftover pumpkins from Halloween, Jerk Chickpea crisps, liquorice allsorts, and the food cupboard staples - crates of bread, carrots and cabbages. Some of carrots were black so needed a good sort. Overall, it was a smaller haul than usual, with no fridge items this week, but this turned out to be a blessing as everything on hand needed to go!

Martin hulked out, moving heavy crates of veg and even lifting a pumpkin above his head - wow! Not to be beaten, Andy showed us all up by expertly balancing a pumpkin on his head... he truly is the MVP!

P.S. no pumpkins were harmed in the making of this food cupboard.

Each Monday morning, GoodGym lend a hand to the South Ealing Food Cupboard, helping the wonderful team of volunteers prepare surplus food for the local community. This week, Nicola, Andy, and Iram braved the rain to get stuck in, and it was a lively morning!

The volunteers were out in force today, peaking at ten people at one point, a record turnout for a rainy day! Andy returned victorious to find the shelf he fixed in a previous session still standing strong (and now proudly displaying popcorn!). It was Nicola’s first GoodGym mission, but you’d never have guessed it, she got straight to work flattening cardboard, unloading the van and offering to lend a hand wherever it was needed.

Despite the soggy weather, Andy and Nicky fearlessly tackled the unloading outside. Inside, the haul was a swede-heavy selection, with plenty of oranges, cabbages and bread. Sadly, not all the fruit was fit for fame, so the team sorted out the squashed and mouldy ones. The real surprise of the day, though, was a giant white sheet cake which looked suspiciously like a wedding cake! The Polygonian Friends Lunch team were quick to claim it for dessert on Wednesday.

Brentford Festival is an annual, community run, family friendly festival that has been running since 2005. Unfortunately, due to operational difficulties, it was announced that this year's edition would be the last. It was a great relief, then, that the late summer downpours made way for a glorious Sunday in West London. From 9am, Goodgym was directed by the unflappable festival organiser Linda to erect gazebos, take furniture and bins out of the storage area and place flags around the site. While we were faced with gazebos with various important bits missing or broken, Kash and Sevan's experience came through and we ultimately conquered the task with typical Goodgym team work and communication. Not long after we finished our setup shift, people started arriving and the festival quickly swung into gear, judging by how much everyone was enjoying themselves, it was obvious just how much this festival would be missed.

Each Monday morning, GoodGym lends a hand at the South Ealing Food Cupboard helping the wonderful volunteers sort through surplus food and get it ready to share with the local community.

This week, Iram, Mo, and Andy were on duty for what turned out to be a session full of variety (and a bit of drama!). The delivery was packed with treats: stacks of croissants, huge tins of coconut, oat milk, tubs of double cream, plenty of juice and even seafood ramen. To keep things interesting, there was also an assortment of unusual vegetables, including long and mini aubergines and some bitters.

Of course, no GoodGym session is complete without a challenge. First, a shelf gave way under the weight of the bumper haul, but Andy cleverly fixed it, saving the day (and the produce!). Then, a tub of double cream made a break for it... but Mo was quick on the scene and helped Iram clean it up in no time. It's a good job the Food Cupboard are planning to get the carpets professionally cleaned before the arrival of the new vicar! The team are super grateful for GoodGym's help preparing for their arrival and may well need extra support in the coming weeks.

All in all, it was another great morning of teamwork, quick thinking and keeping good food out of the bin and into the hands of the community.