The Anon Street Team was established in 2013 with the aim of providing a hot meal to the homeless in Norwich every Sunday evening. There were no facilities open on Sundays in Norwich, so homeless people had nowhere they could go to get food. We were set up with 4 separate teams covering each Sunday, which meant volunteers would only have to help out one week in four.

We still use the same format today. We now meet outside the City Hall in Norwich on St. Peter’s Street and serve food from 7pm. We provide a hot meal with dessert, snack food, hot and cold drinks, warm clothing and toiletries and emergency sleeping bags and blankets.

Locally, we provide food parcels and ready meals for those in need in Wymondham and surrounding villages, mainly in the South Norfolk area. We help single people, families and those with disabilities and anyone needing regular ongoing support or for those needing help for a short while.

We run entirely on the donations we receive. We collect food that would otherwise go to landfill, donated mainly from supermarkets. Our volunteers help in a variety of ways. We now have over 100 volunteers spread across the 4 teams. Each week, some collect food donations, and others cook main meals and desserts. Volunteers also help us by taking the hot cooked food to Norwich and serving it to those in need. We have volunteers who make up food parcels for local people and deliver them, making sure our parcels have a variety of fresh and frozen food as well as store cupboard packets and cans.

We provide around 130 cooked meals every week, as demand has increased. Any food left over is given to hostels for vulnerable people, including in Wymondham, and we also support the Dementia Club with donations of fruit, bread, cakes and veg.

We support around 30 – 40 separate families locally with food parcels, as and when they need food, either weekly or every 2 weeks.

We are well supported in Wymondham, as that is where our hub is. We were originally given space in Wymondham ‘Old’ Town Hall, provided by South Norfolk Council, but we now have our hub in Fairland Church. We are also supported by Rothbury Community Centre, Town Green Centre, and Barford Van Hire.

We are grateful for regular food donations from Waitrose, Lidl, M&S, Aldi, Cleverleys, Farmer Barnes and many others, with additional regular donations from Town Green Centre, Church and School Harvest Festivals, and private individuals.

We actively fundraise as we have to buy our foil food containers, wooden cutlery and equipment and any extra food. We have held craft events, spring fairs with raffles, and tombolas. Wymondham Town Council have given us a free stall on the market, and we have had stalls at the Abbey Craft Fair too. Wymondham Satellite Rotary also support us by giving us a grant to buy underwear, gloves, roll mats, and equipment. We have held Spring and Autumn Fairs in the Rothbury Community Centre and a Christmas Fair at Fairland Hall.

Everyone in our organisation is a volunteer. No one gets paid, so every penny we raise is spent on helping those in need.

We are always looking for new volunteers to collect food, cook or serve and deliver food parcels.

Please contact Sue at anonstreetteamsouth@gmail.com or check out our Facebook page, Anon Street Team – Norwich.