The people our chefs and volunteers cook for are always front of mind when we prepare our nutritious meals.

Receiving a review from a meal recipient is a gift. Ryan, a former chef, shared his feedback after picking up a FareShare meal during COVID. Here’s what he thought:  

I got a vegetarian curry from a church near my house in Thornbury, about 2-3 months back. I can honestly say I’ve thought about this meal quite a few times since then. I’m still behind in the rent that’s been steadily building up higher since March. I’ve never had much money and growing up we had even less.

I give thanks for every meal I have and a meal is never lost on me. Cooking was just what I did for my family because it was something I could always give. I ended up becoming a chef because my role was to nourish. I don’t cook for a job any more, but food will always be more than commerce.

Food is love. That’s why I’ve thought about this meal many times since then, because being given this meal was a loving hug.

The spices were warming and the seasoning was excellently balanced. I like strong flavours and intense spiciness, and found this curry was quite mild yet still very full-flavoured and well-rounded, leaving nothing to be desired, making this curry very versatile and appealing to a wide range of tastes.

I thought there was a great variety and combination of vegetables. It was frozen when I received it, and as far as I could tell that did not affect any of the vegetable textures, all of which were perfectly cooked. It was so good!

And as I prepared the rice and warmed the curry in a pot, I read on the packaging about FareShare, how the produce is salvaged and the product is donated, and it was to me a real lifeline. I want to say thank you to every single person involved in FareShare. You help more than could possibly be known. Thank you.

Ryan, Thornbury

FareShare has launched an appeal for new ovens this Christmas. To help us continue to nourish people like Ryan when they reach out, please donate here.

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