In the first of our 'Spotlight On' series, Wendy Kewley meets Sarah Frazer from the Trinity Rooms Community Hub to find out about the work of the Network of Stroud Hubs.
Feeding Stroud
Since 2020, the Network of Stroud Hubs have provided a vital support system across the town and is thriving thanks to its partnerships and volunteers
“We knew we wanted to do something to combat food waste – it all started with food, but it’s definitely not just food anymore.”
Sarah Frazer is sitting in the Trinity Rooms Community Hub in Stroud, one of nine food pantries in the Network of Stroud Hubs (NoSH) providing meals to the local community. The network includes the Middle of the Hill, Paganhill, Top of Town (ToTCH) and Uplands community hubs plus the Marah Trust.
‘We’re hyper local, but together we’re much stronger’
As she finishes off a delicious looking apple crumble, Sarah says: “The hubs all serve different demographics, but the important thing is that we’ve sprung up from the community and we’re hyper local, but together we’re much stronger.”
The hubs also run a hygiene bank, warm spaces, book swap, digi drop-in and host various NHS clinics.
“We moved to the Trinity Rooms during the pandemic, so all we had was a freezer by the door and people would come to the porch, because they had to be outside.
“When we moved here, we got together with the other hubs over Zoom and had regular meetings to share resources. We’ve kept the individuality and visual identity of each hub and that’s really paramount.”
The hubs vary in size from the large hall with kitchen at the Trinity Rooms to a tiny store cupboard at the Middle of the Hill Community Group, creatively converted from a storage shed.
Like the other hub teams, the Trinity Rooms volunteers are passionate about their work, preparing around 100 meals from surplus food for the community every week. On Mondays they offer a breakfast brunch, on Tuesdays the focus is on food for those struggling with their mental health and on Fridays there’s a two-course lunch.
Sarah says: “The beautiful thing about this space is that we have no idea who’s here because they can’t afford a meal, who’s here because they need social contact and who’s here because they’re struggling so much they can’t walk into town because of their mental health. Then there are also people who come here to meet their friends.”
Diners pay what they can afford. There’s a suggested donation and the pay station is deliberately hidden away, so no one will notice if someone can’t pay anything.
The atmosphere is warm and friendly – and could easily be mistaken for a large and joyous family gathering.
One person drops by to ask if help is needed with the washing up, underlining the crucial role played by volunteers. However, one of the challenges is also not having volunteers with the right skills in the right places at the right times. NoSH offers training for volunteers interested in helping in the food pantries, kitchens, and community activities, but luckily people have stepped forward when needed to fill other skill gaps. NoSH is keen for volunteers who can help with transport, and with gleaning (harvesting crops that are left after the main harvest).
A trustee and member of the Core Team at the Trinity Community Hub, Sarah is also community and wellbeing lead for Earth Protector Communities, the organisation that gave rise to The Trinity Rooms project.
Partnership in action
Partnerships are key to the success and sustainability of this asset-based community development model, and the NoSH team are keen to create a genuine sense of sharing between their partners and the community. It’s the golden thread connecting everything.
Sarah says: “The very first partnership we had was with the Long Table because they had frozen meals and then we started a surplus food collection at the Stroud Farmers Market.
“Stallholders have a poster where we ask people to buy an extra vegetable. We don’t want to just be taking, we want to give something back. So, if the customer buys something extra then the producers benefit and then we get the benefit too.
“Annie, our food coordinator across the food hubs, works 16 hours a week and she collects surplus food from farms, allotments, shops and some businesses and she’ll distribute this across the NoSH, so we get fantastic quality food.
“We work with Zerodig and rent some space at Hawkwood, Oakbrook Community Farm and we get surplus from Stroud Community Agriculture as well.”
NoSH has a partnership with the farms and the National Real Farming Trust’s network of small producers. Every few months some producers will encourage customers to buy an extra something enabling NoSH to draw down that value in meat and buy a cheaper cut to make a meatloaf etc.
This ‘kindness model’ is being replicated across different projects around the country and is starting in the Forest of Dean, Yorkshire and North Wales. The NoSH team has also travelled as far away as Edinburgh, London and Brighton & Hove to share ideas.
Looking to the future
Looking ahead, NoSH has plans to become a Charitable Incorporated Organisation to maximise its effectiveness as a network.
The Trinity Rooms Community Hub also has its own major plans as it currently leases its space from the nearby church, via the Stroud Earth Community, and the building is up for sale. So, there is an appeal to raise £200k to buy the building and secure it as a permanent space for the community.
Whatever happens, it’s clear that all the Stroud community hubs provide a vital sanctuary for many people in the locality.
“There’s a really big need everywhere – it’s shocking,” adds Sarah. “There’s so much hidden poverty.
“In my head, we’re weaving threads of support around the town.”
Sarah’s tips for people starting out
- Start small – we get a team first and then once we know it works, we get the volunteers in.
- Only ever do something that feels like a fair energy exchange. If it feels like hard work, then don’t do it. It should be a joy.
- Really work out what your community wants – and not what you want. What we’ve done has been shaped and formed by the community.
Volunteer and help your local community
If anyone wants to volunteer, there are plenty of opportunities to get involved. Sarah encourages anyone interested to contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. to find out more.
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