Volunteering
I’ve just got back from my fortnightly stint at Hove Luncheon Club where I volunteer, helping out in the kitchen where we turn food rejected by the supermarkets into delicious meals for the over 55s of Hove. I find that being able to do this is brilliant for me; I get to spend time with a great group of people of all ages, and I’m also able to do something I enjoy doing – cooking. I’ve found that catering for 60+ people, chopping veg, segmenting a box of oranges, any mundane and mindless preparation task, helps my wellbeing. As well as mindful knife work, I appreciate being able to make a contribution to the lives of others and be socially connected.
It’s not just me who feels like this, other Bakehouse volunteers have commented about the benefits they have seen from being involved in the project. The Citzens Advice Bureau have researched the impact of volunteering with them on the wellbeing of volunteers, with clear outcomes. Their report states that many volunteers felt less stressed as a result of volunteering, with others being able to manage their mental health better.
Stoneham Bakehouse is staffed by a great group of volunteers and I thank them for their commitment and hard work; from baking to helping with the admin, you’re all stars!
Out in the Community
We’ve had a busy few weeks, with stalls at a school fair and also at the local Farmers’ Market. It’s been really good to meet people from the community and talk about Stoneham Bakehouse with them. Over the last few weeks I’ve had the chance to talk to both Councillor Robert Nemeth and our new MP, Peter Kyle. It’s been nice to share my story, and that of the first few months of our community supported bakery, as well as talk about the future of the Bakehouse.
The Best Place To Live Gets Better In The Sun! The best place to live, Hove and Portslade (obviously!) gets even…
Posted by Peter Kyle, MP for Hove and Portslade on Sunday, 19 July 2015
I have to agree with this post by Peter Kyle; we do live in the best place. I’m continually amazed by people’s enthusiasm for Stoneham Bakehouse. Whether as fans of our bread, or supporters of the work we have been doing using breadmaking to promote childrens’ and adults’ wellbeing, your comments and good wishes mean a lot. Thank you.
July Update
Over the last month we’ve baked bread, taught breadmaking, and worked with young and old alike. We’ve even been at the West Hove Infant School Summer Fair yesterday. Read on to update yourself about the Bakehouse.
The last week has seen the end of the Mens 50+ Bread Talk project with Impact Initatives at St John’s Cafe and Centre. It was a very successful series of sessions; seeing a group of men making everything from flatbreads, to wholemeal loaves, to Chelsea buns. Throughout the sessions there was plenty of talk too, as the group connected and learnt new things. We’ve also finished the Playdough group at Hove Juniors Portland Road, with it arriving at the Holland Road site in September. The children have loved the sessions, especially sharing the breads with their classmates.
There are now a number of ways to buy bread from us;
- Order bread during the week and collect itΒ from The Hive on Friday afternoons and alternate Saturdays.
- Buy bread at the Hove Farmers’ Market on the third Saturday of each month (July 18th, August 15th), and you can even buy our bread as toast at the pop-up cafe they have.
Our Everyday Bread workshops have proved popular with participants, as this testimonial shows; “lovely lunch, very relaxed atmosphere, perfect for newbies and more experienced bakers alike”. We cover the basics of fermentation, kneading, shaping and baking, with all participants leaving with a bag of bread. If you’re interested in learning to bake, we’ve got a few places left on our Everyday Bread workshops for Tuesdays August 11th and September 8th between 10-2. You can book via the workshops section of the website. We’re also looking to do other workshops in the autumn. What would you like to see us offer? When would you like to come? Is there a type of bread you’d like to know how to bake? Let us know.
It’s great to have Stoneham Bakehouse growing, with members of the community getting involved in different ways. Our fabulous volunteer bakers continue to do a brilliant job, both baking and selling our community made bread. Others have offered specific skills from bookkeeping to design. A big thank you goes out to Rob Robinson who has been working on our new logo and other branding. I’m sure you agree its looking great, and I know the volunteers are looking forward to it appearing on t-shirts and aprons soon!Bringing Great Bread into Our Home
Surrounded by the hubbub of the Farmers’ Market last weekend, with people tasting our bread, buying veg, trying cheeses, and exploring all the delicious local food on offer, the dream of a community bakery was a reality. It was brilliant to spread the word about community baking and share our bread; however, one conversation really touched me.
One of our customers on the day was Louise, who’d been to our June Everyday Bread workshop. Her husband greeted me with a handshake and “Thanks for bringing great bread into our home”. It’s so nice to know that the baking bug is spreading. I’d forgotten the buzz of seeing a student get hooked on a subject. Louise hasn’t bought bread since the workshop; baking the loaves she learnt on the workshop, but also adapting recipes to try things out. She said that before; “baking bread was a scary and difficult thing, as well as time consuming, but my day with you changed that!” Baking bread is a simple thing really, its just having the confidence to wait, to know when to put the dough in the oven, when to take the loaf out, that makes you successful. As a community bakery, as well as selling our bread, we want to see good bread being eaten across the neighbourhood. So teaching people to bake their own is really important to us.
We’ve got more workshops in the pipeline. So if, like Louise, you’d like to bake bread, but are a little unsure, why not sign up to one of our Everyday Bread workshops. Enjoy four hours of breadmaking; developing your skills of kneading and shaping, aswell as your knowledge of the breadmaking process. We’ll bake, chat, have lunch, and help you bring great bread into your home.
Bread for Sale this Weekend
Thanks to all of you who came along to Hove Farmers’ Market on Saturday to buy bread. It was great to see you all and for me to share our community based baking project with you. We’ll be back at St Philip’s Church Hall next month, 18th July, with more of our delicious community baked bread.If you cant wait until the next Farmers’ Market, then you can order bread during the week, for collection at The Hive on Friday afternoon and Saturday lunchtime. See what we will be baking on the Buy Bread section of the website, email or phone your order in, come and collect your freshly made community bread from your local community cafe.
