We were approached by a student asking if they could do their week’s work experience with us in July. We have had requests before and have occasionally said yes but worried that there wouldn’t be enough hours to do meaningful work and help. Last time, we had a politics student who did a project around young people’s views on foodbank and politics which was quite a different week to what we had recently! This time, the student spent two days helping in the warehouse and the rest at 3 different distribution centres, getting involved with handing out food parcels, helping with toiletries and chatting with our advice partners about what else is offered to those who need our help. We received some great feedback from one centre and also from the student:
‘It was a pleasure having the student join the team this morning, and I can only leave glowing feedback for him. He was very polite, listened carefully when explanations and instructions were given. He responded promptly and without hesitation or question, nothing had to be repeated. He was a joy to give work experience time to, and we wish him well for the future.’ Distribution centre.
‘I have really enjoyed this week at the food bank and many thanks for having me. Whether it’s been weighing baskets of food or giving food out to people in need, I have enjoyed all of it and it’s kept me busy as it’s been so varied. I can’t think of any improvements from this week, the people volunteering in the warehouse were very nice to me and made me feel welcome. It was really helpful to visit the community food banks after being in the warehouse and being able to see the beneficial side of seeing the food being given out to the community that I helped packed and weigh. It’s been a real eye-opener to see how the food bank is run and to see what is packed into a food parcel -I didn’t realise things like toiletries would be classed as extras. Thank you for this experience and for having me for the week, it’s been great!’ Year 10 work experience student.
