The Devon & Cornwall Food Association Ltd (DCFA)

Spare food is share food!

7, Whimple Street, Plymouth, Devon PL1 2DH Mobile: 07745819828 (text only) Email: saudigeoff@yahoo.co.uk Website: http://dcfa.webs.com About us: The summary below shows what DCFA is, what it has done so far, how the our community has benefitted and the way that DCFA has involved people and other organisations from our community. Also included are items that enhance the importance and the significance of the work of DCFA. The aim of DCFA is to try to stop good, in-date food produce from going to landfill and then to share it out to those community organisations in Devon and Cornwall that feed disadvantaged individuals either by providing meals or the issuance of food parcels. Hence our Strapline: Spare Food is Share Food! DCFA currently has no paid staff. All its helpers, including its Board of Trustees, are unpaid volunteers. Many also work or volunteer for other charitable organisations in the area which means they understand all too well just how difficult and expensive it is to provide food for the disadvantaged among us. And... its so sad to see food producers sending good food to landfill sites simply because it has been packaged or labelled incorrectly or whatever! Especially sad when there are so many hungry people in our communities these days during this current recession. A recession that has caused redundancies, layoffs and high unemployment! The result of re-distributing this food produce to our registered organisations means that they in turn can save money. And the cash saved can be put to their own coreaims. A good result all round! DCFA does not and will not issue food directly to individuals... only to registered charitable organisations. A little history: On Tuesday, 26th October 2010, DCFA became a private company limited by guarantee and registered with Company House. This was achieved with thanks to a small monetary award from the Church Urban Fund which enabled DCFA to pay its legal fees and the necessary insurance premium to cover food handling, etc., for the first year. DCFA is now also recognised by HMRC as a charitable organisation for tax purposes which means it can now benefit from the Gift Aid Scheme, amongst other things. DCFA started trading on Wednesday, 23rd February 2011... just nine months of planning and preparation after first setting-up. Without any permanent premises of its own, DCFA is currently only able to operate on Wednesday mornings at the Congress Hall on Armada Way in Plymouth City Centre. And we are most grateful to the Salvation Army for being such generous hosts. Robert Wiseman Dairies, based at Pensilva in Cornwall, currently supplies DCFA with unwanted milk and sometimes cream. Milk and cream that would otherwise go to landfill! Our team of volunteers take delivery of this milk and cream, sorts it, updates our databank and then immediately issues it to the charitable organisations that have registered with DCFA so far. These currently include:
Action Group for Halcyon, Age Concern, Amber Initiatives, Befriending Consortium, Devon & Cornwall Refugee Support (DCRS), Diggin It!, Discovery Caf (Methodist Central Hall) Elder Tree Visiting & Befriending Service , Friends & Residents of Sutton Trust (FROST), Oasis Centre, Plymouth FoodBank, Plymouth & District MIND Association, Plymouth Refuge (Plymouth Domestic Abuse Service), Salvation Army (Congress Hall Open Door Caf), and Shekinah Mission
The Devon & Cornwall Food Association Ltd. (DCFA) is a Private Company Limited by Guarantee. Registered Company No. 07419679. Registered Charity No. - DCFA is recognised by HMRC as a Charity for tax purposes under Reference XT27083. Members of : NCVO (The National Council for Voluntary Organisations) Membership No. MEMBERVC/13004, PTSC (The Plymouth Third Sector Consortium), The Small Charities Coalition, And Volunteering England Membership No.1278747.
Our Funder:

And Voluntary Donations.

2 By the end of August 2011, DCFA had helped to divert more than 6,000 litres of milk, and a substantial amount of various creams, from landfill and has brought smiles to various charitable organisations in our region. This has saved them an expenditure of 5,500 in the first 28 weeks that DCFA has been trading! Obviously, bigger savings will be made as DCFA progresses. The quantities involved are shown in the up-to-date on our website at: http://dcfa.webs.com/stats.htm. DCFA currently has no permanent premises of its own otherwise it would be operating on a daily basis and providing charitable organisations with so very much more than just milk! DCFA has been promised food produce from local producers and food outlets but is unable to accept these offers until it obtains funding for permanent premises. There is much, much more that could be achieved if only DCFA could realise these hopes and dreams! So... in the longer term, DCFA aims to acquire premises in a centralised area of Plymouth and make Plymouth the main Hub for the whole of Devon and Cornwall. A meeting was held in Exeter in March 2011 where a nucleus of a DCFA Working Group was established to get things moving in that area. Another meeting was held in Truro in April 2011 where the nucleus of another DCFA Working Group was set up to get things established in Cornwall. DCFA is fortunate to have the assistance of a dedicated team of volunteers, including a group of students from the City College in Plymouth. One of our gentleman volunteers on the Milk Issuing Team is 82-years-young! DCFA is working on an inter-active Talk & PowerPoint Presentation which can be adapted and geared to suit the needs of individual audiences. DCFA then hopes to deliver these presentations to schools throughout our area and indeed, any other organisation that may be interested. As well as promoting and raising the profile of DCFA it is intended to educate the populace about the reasons for our project and our leanings towards make our area that much greener! DCFA already has a Slide Show and a Video that can be seen at: http://dcfa.webs.com/DCFA2011VDO.htm The Future of DCFA: DCFA could do so very much more if only it could find some warehouse-type premises or even a vacant shop in the central area of Plymouth. Plymouth being the main distribution hub whilst extending spokes to Exeter and Truro. DCFA is currently bidding for funds that might enable it to do just that! Renting a unit in the Union Street area of Plymouth would cost about 3,600 per annum. Then DCFA would need to find additional funds to pay for utilities and Council Rates. Further funds would also be needed to set up a basic office facility with all that an office entails and of course, expenses for our volunteers. DCFA would also need to pay for racking or shelving and food storage containers, including chillers and refrigerators. Ongoing costs would include the need to purchase Display Stands, print posters and leaflets and other sundry items. In Conclusion: DCFA recognises that Rome wasnt built in a day but it has come a long way in just one short year! Nevertheless there is a lot to be done yet and the volunteers certainly display the determination and zest needed to progress this project further so as to achieve its aims. Please support DCFA! Thank you!

Geoffrey N. Read
Geoffrey N. Read, MCIM Company Secretary DCFA Friday, 16 September 2011
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