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A charity opening a centre in Hucknall at the end of this month has made an urgent plea for volunteers to run its centres nationwide.

FoodCycle, which aims to make food poverty, loneliness and food waste a thing of the past for every community, is in urgent need of volunteers as it fights to fill almost 4,000 empty volunteer slots this summer.

The charity is set to open its Hucknall centre at Central Methodist Church on Baker Street on July 30.

Meals will then be served at the venue every Sunday thereafter at 1pm.

FoodCycle is looking for more people to join volunteers like these in Hucknall and across the UK

But to ensure the project delivers on what it sets out to do, it needs volunteers to help run it – not just in Hucknall but across the country too.

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Sophie Tebbetts, FoodCycle’s head of programmes, said: “Every summer we see a decline in volunteer sign-ups due to many reasons – from students returning home to parents having less time during the holidays.

“This year, 3,947 volunteer slots need to be filled between now and September – made more urgent by the cost-of-living crisis which has helped to see a 59 per cent increase in our guest numbers in the last 12 months.

“By dedicating just a few hours of your time to volunteer with us, you can help a family get access to a cooked, nutritious meal.⁠

“Please join us at your local project this summer and help us break the cycle of hunger.

“Once you witness the immense difference it makes in people’s lives, you won’t regret it.”

Volunteer roles at FoodCycle are flexible, are open to anyone and do not have a minimum time commitment.

Roles are equally inclusive and range from food collection to surplus food co-ordinators to cooking in the kitchen or hosting out front.

Those that love to lead, can even train to be a project leader.

One of the charity’s volunteers said: “Because of FoodCycle, I’ve found I enjoy cooking and being in the kitchen environment and it’s something I’d love to do as proper paid work.

"Being at FoodCycle every week helps to show I am reliable, can work with other people and am committed, so it’s really changed things for me.”

To sign up as a volunteer or for more information, visit foodcycle.org.uk

Charity soon opening in Hucknall makes desperate plea for more volunteers