I had for some time wanted to give something back to the community and actually found out about the Sunday Lunch Project (SLP) from a leaflet at the Woolston Beer Festival of all places! I started solely as a volunteer a few years back, but have been a team leader for one of the seven Woolston teams for the last year or so.
As a team leader, I am responsible for contacting the team a few days before our team is due to prepare the dinners for the following Sunday, to make sure we have enough people. I will then buy the food a day or two before the actual day (our meal is sausages and mash with vegetables, which always seem to go down well). On the Sunday itself I pick up the keys, get there a little earlier than most people and open up (I am always surprised at the sheer number of keys at the Woolston venue for the various doors and cupboards!) and start to set things up as the rest of the team and the first customers arrive. A few of the customers will generally help with putting out the tables, chairs, etc. in the morning and then will help pack things away after the meal, which is always appreciated and helps to save time.
The term 'team leader' is, to my mind, just a name, as there is absolutely no sense of hierarchy in our group: we all know what to do and we work very well as a team. We are not precious about which jobs we do (although mashing potato is very popular for some reason!) and, if something needs doing, one of the team will realise this and do it. My team is a good group of people from different walks of life and I enjoy working with them all. On the day, it goes from very busy whilst preparing the food, to a bit of a lull (and time for a coffee or tea) while things are cooking, to very busy again as we serve the meals, then as we do the washing up (there is a lot of that!) and clear things away.
One of the juggling acts is to ensure we have meals ready for late arrivals (we normally serve up just after noon, but we are open until 1 p.m.), whilst at the same time trying to ensure that people who want leftovers as takeaway meals are patient, but also don't give up waiting and leave before we can give these out once we know the final numbers of customers. Obviously we don't like to waste food, but we seem to have this down to a tee most of the time.
My personal viewpoint is that one of the most important lessons we can learn in life is perspective. The work I do with the Sunday Lunch Project certainly gives me this and helps to put any of my own problems in perspective. Most of the customers are also highly appreciative of what we do, which helps. Personally I would not hesitate to recommend becoming a volunteer at the SLP for anyone who may be interested. The commitment is one week in every seven (which is only seven or eight times a year) and, as a standard volunteer, you can just turn up on the day and help, so it is not a requirement to do the extra things that I do as a team leader.
