"My Dad Used to Come Here” - Why Owen Chose to Volunteer at Oldbury Court Food Club
When 11-year-old Owen was given a choice of charities where he could spend a day volunteering, he picked somewhere he already knew - Oldbury Court Food Club.
“My dad used to come here, and I knew a few people around here,” he explained. “It would just feel different than walking up to a place that I’d never been before and going, ‘Yeah, I’m here to help,’ to some random strangers.”
Owen had previously visited the Food Club with his dad Lee and his sister during the school holidays. At the time, the family were using the Food Club after ill health had forced Lee to stop working.
A Lifeline When the Family Needed It
“Having gone from a really good salary to no salary at all, and then being dependent on one income for the house, it was a godsend,” Lee said.
“What you get for the amount you spend is insane. It just lifted a weight of burden about worrying about how the next week was going to be funded.”
Lee would visit the Food Club on a Thursday and the family would plan the rest of their weekly shop around what he brought home.
“If we got a lot of veg, then we didn’t need to spend so much on the veg that week.”
But what Lee remembers just as strongly is having somewhere to go and people to talk to while he was unable to work.
“When I was ill, it was quite hard being out of work and having no one to speak to all day,” he said. “The social element of Food Club - coming up and just having a squash or a coffee and a quick chat with people - could kind of lift the spirits.”
Five years after first becoming unwell, Lee’s circumstances have changed. He has been able to return to work, finding a part-time role as an exams administrator at a local college that is more manageable alongside his health.
“It’s completely different,” said Lee, who previously worked as a 3D designer for a major retailer. “But it’s a job where I’m not stressed out like I was previously. It’s not as far to travel and I don’t have the level of responsibility I had, so all of that is a lot easier to manage.”
He now works from 8am until 2pm, four days a week, with a rest day in the middle.
“I get that little hour when I get home just to decompress before the kids come back from school, which is also really helpful.”
When Lee started the job in January, the family’s finances had improved enough that they decided they no longer needed the Food Club.
“Our salary became to the point where it felt unfair to continue coming,” he said. “The place would be better off given to someone that needed it more than us at that point.”
Owen’s Turn to Help
Eight months later, it was Owen who brought the family back.
A member of Bristol 252 Scouts, Owen is currently working his way towards his Chief Scout’s Gold Award. He’s clearly taken to the challenge: as well as volunteering, he’s been litter picking in his local area, researching Black history and even created a rock song about Scouts to be played at his group’s AGM.
When volunteering came up as one of the challenges he needed to complete, Lee gave him a few different charities to choose from. The decision to return to the Food Club was Owen’s.
“I didn’t put any pressure on the decision, but I was secretly glad that it was here,” Lee said. “It just felt right to be able to offer something back.
“Even though it’s a small token gesture of just the one day, to give something back for something that we’ve received - it just felt right.”
This time, Owen got to see what happens on the other side of the Food Club.
He stocked shelves, cleaned and prepared vegetables and researched simple recipes using some of the food available that week. But his favourite part was serving members.
“I liked going through the fridges, handing out things to other people,” he said.
Having previously only seen the Food Club from a member’s perspective, there were a few things he hadn’t expected.
“I didn’t realise how much you need to clean everything and get everything prepared,” Owen said. “I just thought it got delivered that way, and then they just pulled it all out.”
He discovered it was “a lot harder than I thought it would be” - and came away with a new appreciation for the regular volunteers who do it every week.
Back at the Food Club
Lee volunteered alongside him but tried to stay in the background.
“I’ve tried to just let him do his own thing, give him a little bit of independence,” he said. “He seemed to run with the serving really well, so I just took a step back and left him to it.”
The day also gave Lee the opportunity to catch up with people he hadn’t seen since leaving the Food Club.
“It was good to catch up and let people know how work’s going and see how they’re getting on,” he said. “Just generally catch up and have a laugh again.”
And for Owen, it was a chance to help somewhere that was already familiar to him, find out what happens behind the scenes and get another step closer to the Scout award he’s working towards.
Asked at the end of the day whether he’d enjoyed it, his answer was characteristically simple:
“Yeah.”
Get Involved
Oldbury Court Food Club relies on regular volunteers to help prepare food, stock shelves and support the weekly sessions. If you’d like to give some of your time and get involved, we’d love to hear from you. Email Volunteering@bristolcharities.org.uk or visit https://bristolcharities.org.uk/about/volunteer/
If you live in BS16 and are struggling with the cost of food, Oldbury Court Food Club may also be able to support you and your family. Please get in touch to find out more about joining the Food Club and the support available. Pop in for a chat or email community@vassallcentre.org.uk.
