Client: Calais Kitchens
Role: Manager
Calais Kitchens provided dry food ingredients for people living in the 'Jungle’ camp, so that they could cook for themselves. After volunteering for several short stints I was asked to return and joint-manage the warehouse space and volunteer team.
As the camp population rose, the team struggled to meet demand. I assessed that this was due to working as one large team stopping and starting production of parcels to shift to other tasks (like weighing up individual ingredients). As joint warehouse manager of a team of up to 15 volunteers I streamlined production by creating separate teams for each task, which meant production could run continuously. I also introduced daily inductions for new volunteers which improved efficiency. This enabled us to pack enough parcels to meet the demand.
After the demolition of the 'Jungle' camp, it was less feasible for people living rough in Calais to cook for themselves, and Calais Kitchens closed. Our good friends Refugee Community Kitchen continue to provide hot food for those who live there; you can donate to their vital work here.