Doctors are often approached by their patients with various, non-clinical concerns that don’t require medical attention. Or they may be suffering from anxiety because of debt, family grievances or grief. Doctors don’t have the time or resource to find the right support in such occurrences, which can be incredibly time-consuming in an already resourced stretched […]
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In our ten years of operation as part of FareShare’s national network of food redistributors, SOFEA has spearheaded the fight against hunger and food waste. Establishing effective and lasting partnerships with our major food supplies is central to these aims. One such partnership is our collaboration with the international baker, Brioche Pasquier. A French family […]
While Russia’s invasion of Ukraine raged on, Hanna was forced from her home as a refugee and sought asylum in the UK in 2022. In Ukraine, Hanna had significant professional experience as a Health and Safety Officer, but she soon discovered that there were significant language barriers preventing her from finding work in Britain. In […]
Recently SOFEA received a Partner Recognition Certificate from the Illegal Money Lending Team in acknowledgement of the work SOFEA’s done to make Community Larder members aware of loan sharks. Over the course of a week, the Illegal Money Lending Team visited Community Larders in Westcroft, Waterhall and Coffee Hall as well as delivering a presentation […]
Last Tuesday saw the grand opening of the latest SOFEA Community Larder at the Methodist church on Marlborough Road in Banbury, Oxford. In attendance were representatives from various esteemed entities including officials from Cherwell Council, the Mayor of Banbury, the head of Banbury and Bicester College, local faith leaders as well as SOFEA staff and […]
We were delighted to be presented with a £1000 donation last week from RWE Didcot Power Station, to support our table tennis team. Following their 2023 victory at the Didcot and District Table Tennis League Handicap Tournament, this donation has enabled the team to purchase shirts and a serving robot to put them through their paces. While […]
SOFEA’s Trustee Board is delighted to announce the appointment of Joanna Dyson OBE as our new Chair from 1 March 2024. Following a national search campaign last year, working closely with Peridot Partners, SOFEA chose Jo to succeed inaugural Chair Bernard Grenville-Jones as he completes his full term of 9 years. Jo is an experienced […]
The young people who come to SOFEA are aged between 12 and 25. In every case they face one or more barriers and/or disadvantage that makes an intervention necessary for them to build a purposeful life for themselves. The SOFEA model is based on three pillars: Work Education Wellbeing Each young person gets a personalised […]
SOFEA was founded to enable people to transform their lives meeting two needs – providing education/ employability skills training and supporting those in need through the provision of food. SOFEA, as an independent local charity, joined the FareShare network in order to access surplus food from the food industry and distribute it to other charitable […]
Introduction In your mind, picture a classroom filled with 30 pupils. Of those 30 pupils, approximately 8 of them will be eligible for Free School Meals (FSMs). However, between 3 and 4 of the students will miss out, despite coming from low-income backgrounds that would make them eligible for FSMs. Why? While an overly restrictive […]
While the cost of living crisis shows no sign of easing, vulnerable people are having to make considerable sacrifices to try and save money how and where they can. The Money Saving Expert (MSE) has assembled an extensive list of money saving techniques, and below, are some we feel SOFEA’s beneficiaries could implement during these […]
Having been a teacher with prior experience of mainstream schools, the culture of teaching at SOFEA highlighted some stark differences. Over time, SOFEA gave me the opportunity to examine my previous teaching practices, and how I could adapt them to best suit the youngsters at SOFEA. Like so many teachers before me; I tried, and […]
Last year, the cost of a 1kg bag of own-brand rice from one of the Big Four supermarkets was 45p. Today however, that same 1kg bag of rice costs £1 for 500g, marking a price increase of 344%. These findings, among many more besides, have ignited a national conversation on food prices, the cost of […]