"So much of what my course focusses on is food security – [volunteering here, there] is a direct link with food insecurity and helping people”

Seth is a warehouse volunteer at the FareShare Midlands' Nottingham depot, and has just finished a master’s degree in nutrition at the University of Nottingham. We sat down to chat about how he’s found FareShare Midlands, how volunteering has complimented his degree and the extra experience he has gained in the warehouse.

During his undergraduate degree, Seth didn’t do any volunteering; “You always have the intention to volunteer or do something good, but I think there are perceived barriers that aren’t actually there”. He heard about opportunities with FareShare online, from a nutrition careers page; “it’s really easy: I applied, someone got back to me pretty much straight away and then I had an induction.”

“I think people have the perception of a food charity that you go and drop a tin of beans off in a tub at a church or a community centre and then it happens, they don’t realise what it actually does take to help food insecure communities. Even though I’ve learnt about it on a course, I’ve done more of the theory side of it. To see it in real life is interesting”

Understanding Food Insecurity

Having studied food insecurity, Seth says volunteering with FareShare Midlands has improved his understanding of who needs support accessing good-quality food and how they can be supported on a day-to-day basis. “You see who food insecurity is affecting and who’s picking things up and you get a bit more knowledge… particularly locally”. Volunteering in the Warehouse has also demystified the work FareShare does and how we help reduce food waste and insecurity: “FareShare takes the surplus from supermarkets and you realise how much would go to waste. If there weren’t places like this it would go to waste – it’s silly there aren’t more places like this and they don’t get more funding – there’s no shortage of food, it’s just the distribution of it”.

Support With Job Applications

With job applications becoming increasingly competitive, Seth has also found having direct experience with food in the charity sector has also helped, “I talk about volunteering here on CVs and stuff – when I get feedback it looks really good and I can link it really well to my degree. This gives you something to speak about, some practical experience that people like”.

Doing an undergraduate degree in sports science, Seth found that volunteering was extremely competitive at sports clubs, so hearing back from FareShare quickly made a great first impression. Now, his experience at FareShare is key to applications he makes, setting him apart from other applicants:
“If you were going to go into a business or company you’ve got hands-on knowledge of what it’s like and a lot of people don’t have that. You can learn about to all you want but until you’ve actually been and seen it, that’s more valuable. Volunteering is almost as good as having said you’ve worked somewhere – sometimes it’s better.”

Food Quality

As a nutrition student, the quality of produce FareShare distributes has also impressed Seth; “there’s a perception it would all be going off, rotting food and inexpensive, cheaper brands”, but he was glad to see that produce is of a high quality and often from well-known brands. “I couldn’t believe the amount of fresh veg – stuff that we’d all buy… imagine all of that going to waste – perfectly good food when people are struggling.”

Fun in the Warehouse

Gaining experience to support his degree isn’t the only thing Seth gets out of volunteering in the warehouse, either; “I know I’m helping and I’m contributing, and I don’t think people realise it’s actually quite fun!” We discussed that it can sometimes sound strange saying that volunteering in the Warehouse is satisfying or fun, but that it’s great to know you’re helping people and are part of a welcoming team of volunteers – “Everyone’s really nice, friendly, helps you out… when you’re clearly looking for something, someone goes “oh it’s here”, everyone’s really friendly”. There are other benefits too, like unlabelled or short-dated food which volunteers can take home for free, because it can’t be distributed: “there’s always, like, Jason’s Sourdough and I’m like – 'that’s good, I have that at home!'”

Seth studied at the University of Nottingham Sutton Bonington campus, but was keen to point out how convenient the warehouse is for students nearer the centre of Nottingham. “If you’re at the Uni of Nottingham and you’re on University Park or Jubilee campus you’re so close” – the warehouse is 10 minutes’ walk from the University of Nottingham Tram stop, as well as having on-street parking and a bike shelter.

From adding to his CV, to building out more experience in the food sector (and picking up great sourdough!), Seth says he has learned and gained a huge amount from volunteering with FareShare Midlands and would recommend it to other students in the area: “I mention to people it’s actually brilliant, you should come along!”