Nightingales is very fortunate to have some great local partners which help provide support and assistance in the work that is continuing in Cernavoda and the surrounding area. 

One of these partners is the Food Bank, they have regularly supplied food for our beneficiaries, and especially in the last few years for the Ukrainian families we have housed at Nightingales. 

Since October of 2024, the local foodbank has asked us to pick up food daily from a local supermarket. Therefore, we have been able to supply food for around 150 people in Cernavoda and the surrounding villages, with these daily donations. 

We have had to learn as quickly as we can to make it possible to pick up, deliver and make sure that the food is shared out fairly and without the short time frame that we have. The food we receive in the evening expires the next day. So, this is amazing when we pick up a wide selection of produce which can be shared out. Though this is not always the case, in the week after Christmas we picked up over 300 pots of sour cream, it was a struggle to give away so much in with such a small expiration date, but we had to be creative, and this meant that we were able to give it all away within the allotted time.

The families which receive the donations are now able to reduce the money they spend on food weekly, so they are able to cover their other bills, clothes for their children and other basic supplies. Some more elderly people who are unable to get to the shops and struggle to find people to help them with their shopping, have weekly food parcels and also more importantly for them, weekly visits. 

There is great joy for us seeing these families and helping to build relationships with them, but another joy for us as a charity has been seeing local people want to get involved and helping those who are in need in their town. There is a team of volunteers, who help pick up the food and some have also started distributing the food, as they begin to know families who are in need of these groceries. 

If anyone has any experience with food bank food delivery and could offer some advice we would be more than happy to hear from you, please email us at nightingalesromania@gmail.com