CDDO Jenny gets to the heart of Bread and Butter life

18 Oct

“It's hard work, but there's just one person you see that’s so happy to be out of the house, to see somebody else and you've made their day. That, to me, is the high of every day. It's why I keep coming back.”

**Jenny at Bread and Butter’s Trafford warehouse**

Based at our Trafford warehouse, Jenny’s worked for The Bread and Butter Thing as a CDDO (Community Development and Distribution Officer for the past two years and is renown for her witty one liners, dirty laugh and heart of gold. The CDDOs are integral to getting food out into the communities we support, but also building relationships with our members and volunteers, becoming a trusted face in that neighbourhood.

A day in the life

“My day starts at 7am in the warehouse and arrive to find that the magic food team fairies have filled the warehouse with food! So then we get palletting up for whichever hubs we’re going to that day, making sure that there’s an even split between fresh, ambient and chilled for each of the three bags. It’s an active job. Lots of lifting, keeps you fit and you cry in the corner for first week!” laughs Jenny.

“That’s two to three hours of graft there and then we drive out to the community spaces where the hubs are. This is where the volunteers are, and they do all the bag packing.

Nuts about volunteering

“The volunteers are amazing. There can be anywhere from four to 20! Six is my sweet spot. It depends how big the place is, how well people get on in that area as well, and then they'll do it once and then quite enjoy it, and then that's their weekly thing. Then they'll ask someone, and then they'll ask someone, and then, before you know it, you've got overrun with volunteers,” Smiles Jenny.

“They're just people in their local area who like the idea of this, who come to help out. There's one in particular that loves squirrels. She won't just go to like the local shop and get a bag of nuts. She'll go for miles to get some special kind of nuts for her squirrels!”

The more Jenny talks, it's becomes crystal clear that it’s not just about food; it's about community and engagement. The job itself sounds like a tough one that requires many different skills. So what is it that’s kept her here for two years?

“I enjoy the physical work and the meeting people. I love it. You don't know where you're going to be, so you're at different places every day. You're meeting different people and just people's stories and lives. I could sit and listen to it all day long. I love it. From every walk of life I can hear the troubles and stories and I could literally just sit and listen to them all day long.”

The power of a cuppa

Jenny remembers one member’s story in particular, “Some of it is absolutely heartbreaking. Got to know one lady and you could kind of see a difference in the way that she was and her demeanour. You know, sometimes she just looked tired, fed up, a bit dishevelled in a way. And then the more I got to know her and the more she felt comfortable, the more she'd open up and you could see her, especially over a year period, looking better, looking happier. She told me her story one day. We were just having a cup of tea before service. How I didn't cry in front of her, I don’t know.”

“She was in an abusive relationship and she took to drink. She lost her kids, she lost her house. Her partner then left her, so she's left with nothing and turned to drink, lost her job. And then eventually she got past the alcohol and now she's back working and managed to go full circle back into it. One morning, I just made her a cup of tea, asked her how she was and the floodgates opened. She just told me everything that had been going on but it's lovely to see the journey, isn't it?” We couldn’t agree more!

Spills and giggles

To survive warehouse life, you have to have a laugh. And be able to laugh at yourself too! When asked about low moments at work, Jenny recounts a rather stinky story; “I had to go and waste some spring onions that had been in the warehouse a bit too long. It was only my fourth day and it was hot. I fell into the spring onions. I cut my knee and got spring onion juice in my mouth. Spring onions don't have juice! I was there rolling about it. One of the other team found it hilarious, so I couldn't cry in my puddle of self-pity. I cried all the way home!” Jenny giggles at the memory.

But it didn’t put her off! When asked about the highs, “Oh, every day. It's hard work and stressful sometimes, but there's just that one person that you see every day that just is so happy to be out of their house, to see somebody else and that you've made their day, and that, to me, is the high of every day. It's why I keep coming back and crying and rolling in juice!” What a legend.

Listen to Jenny’s podcast right here.