A Day at the Llantwit Major FoodShare Pantry

08 May 2025

Each Thursday morning there is a flurry of movement in and out of the Llantwit Major FoodShare Pantry – with people setting up tables, putting out fresh produce and stocking shelves as they prepare to open their doors at the CF61 community centre building in Llantwit Major to the local community.

More FoodShare volunteers hurriedly begin to arrive as locals start to queue up well before the pantry’s opening hours of between 12:00pm and 14:00pm.

Key to the wider Llantwit Food Project, the FoodShare Pantry is a project that is open to all, with the aim of preventing food insecurity and food waste.

Residents from the local community can come each week to top up their weekly shop at a fraction of supermarket prices, while also doing their bit to stop surplus food going to landfill.

Nic, who oversees the operation at the FoodShare Pantry in Llantwit Major, says no day is the same: “We’re here every Thursday in Llantwit, and we also run in St Athan every other Wednesday too. 

“Our volunteers are already here for a couple of hours setting up before we open the doors for people to come in and access surplus food. We do also supplement what's available so that people can make whole meals out of the surplus and have volunteers here to receive those deliveries and set up the day before as well.

“For five pounds, they get to do a food shop where they can choose one item out of the freezer, one item out of the fridge, six items from the shelves and a fair share of the amount of fruit, vegetables and bakery products that we've got available.”

She added: “The pantry’s origins go back to about 2017, but initially, it was just purely a table of end of the day with whatever supermarket surplus that was available - it was just one table of bread and other products that people in the local community could come and access free of charge, and just to help protect the environment and prevent food waste. 

“It's since evolved into the enormous project that it is today - we serve between 70 and 80 households a week on average at Llantwit Major with more on top of that at the St Athan pantry as well, so it's quite a big project now.”

Since its inception, the FoodShare Pantry – which is managed by GVS, and funded and supported by GVS and a range of organisations including The Vale of Glamorgan Council, Public Health Wales, The National Lottery and The Moondance Foundation - has become a key part of a wider community hub that now operates at the CF61 building.

Every third Thursday of the month, a variety of Council teams link up with external partners - such as the FoodShare Pantry  – for the CF61 Community Drop In, part of the Llantwit Food Project, to aid the delivery of a wide range of support and services to residents.

Residents attending the Llantwit Major FoodShare Pantry for example, can then be signposted to and access direct support in the next room, from other local organisations, projects and advice services that may be useful to them.

Nic continued: “In terms of it all being under the same roof, you've got access to things like the Chatty Caffi on site – it makes a huge difference, and we’re really lucky that this really has become a hub for people.

“People tend to come and shop with us at the same time, and generally the same people see each other too at the same time every week, and that is a huge hugely valuable to a lot of our customers.

“That rhythm, that weekly social connection, not just with each other as customers, but with the staff and volunteers here, with the volunteers that are in Chatty Café, the Clothes Bank, and with the Council staff at the advice hub – it’s an incredible gathering of facilities and services that that we've been very fortunate to be able to offer people, it's amazing.”

There is no eligibility criteria for shopping at the FoodShare Pantry, and staff and volunteers emphasise that whether you are experiencing a need to access food or would like to help stop food waste, there is a welcome for everyone.

The Llantwit Major FoodShare Pantry is held at the CF61 building in the centre of Llantwit Major (Station Road, CF61 1ST) every Thursday from 12:00pm – 14:00pm.

Slots for the FoodShare Pantry can be booked here.