On a very wet and windy day in November, three members of the Rotary Club of Cam Valley met up with three members of the Temple Cloud Larder Group to present the Larder Ladies with a cheque for £150 to assist with the running of the village larder, which began operations in early 2020.

At that time the aim of the larder was to provide basic foodstuffs to those residents of the neighbourhood who for whatever reason were unable or reluctant to visit supermarkets, even for basic supplies. Later this changed to include those furloughed from their jobs or made redundant, but by and large this group found work as the level of covid infection dropped.

However, three years down the line, the need for the larder remains. The recent and very steep rise in the cost of electricity and gas along with the soaring cost of food has seen the return of many of the original larder uses as well as a large number of new users who would normally have been able to manage without any additional support.

The larder group consists of half a dozen ladies who collect produce reaching its ‘best before’ date from local supermarkets each day. This is perfectly good food that would otherwise have to be wasted by the store. In addition, the larder group have also benefitted from the support of the village, with excess home grown items, such as cooking apples donated directly to the larder itself.

With Christmas approaching, the recent donation from the Rotary Club of Cam Valley will enable the team to purchase non perishable items designed to allow the preparation of hearty meals for those living on their own as well as for families at what is often a particularly difficult time of the year.

Team member, Liz Brakspear, said: “A very big thank you is due to all the Cam Valley Rotarians for their continuing support to the Temple Cloud larder.”