This mission started with a very cheerful group prayer for the staff at North Finchley Community Grocery, followed by a not-too-lengthy wait outside in the jolly glorious, Monday morning sunshine. Once the delivery van arrived, it was full steam ahead!

Empty trollies and cage trollies were brought down to the pavement, just outside St Barnabas Church, but were very quickly loaded up with all manner of delicious produce (most notably, a surprisingly large amount of mango, which delighted the staff, as well as the customers who were all too eager to purchase some!). These were all then taken back up and inside the church, where they were offloaded onto small dollies for transporting ease, and for the staff to sort and organise.

Once all of the items were organised and divvied out, it was our job to take the spare produce down to the basement where we stored the items away in the fridge, freezer and on the shelves. We also helped with the dismantling and returning of the empty cage trollies to their home for the week.

This was also the day that I found out that I really need to cut down on the chocolates if I want to comfortably fit in to the St Barnabas Church lift with five dismantled cage trollies…

With one of their key staff away this week, the Grocery asked for an extra pair of Goodgym hands to help with heavy lifting.

Paul, Subham and I rocked up ready to roll trolleys and carry crates. First the dairy delivery arrived, then the Felix food, with more dairy! Unfortunately one of the shop freezers broke down last week, so we stuck around a little longer to help as best we could with rearranging storage and stock.

Turns out playing Tetris with yoghurt, soup and apple slices is a very different skill to heavy lifting, but we did our best! More next week - sign up quick if you want a Monday morning run.

This morning's delivery at the North Finchley Community Grocery was a great start to the week. I ran, Paul cycled, we arrived warmed up (more than expected given this week's weather!) and ready for unpacking. Once the van arrived there was all sorts - yoghurts, lettuce, potatoes, cucumbers and bananas - so many bananas, they were everywhere.

A few runs up and down the ramps with trolleys then back down with some empty crates, and the delivery was over. Then we stuck around a bit longer to help sort things, take things down to the store cupboard and fridge, tidy up and we were done! A great boost.

Next week, one of their team is away, so they've asked for an extra pair of Goodgym hands - three of us. Sign up early, it's proving to be a popular one for those of us who want to start the week like we mean to go on.

Delivering the goods at North Finchley Community Store

Today, 15 June, Subham and I headed to St Barnabas Church in North Finchley to help out at the Community Store.

The store has a regular delivery on Monday mornings and needs a bit of GoodGym muscle to help get everything from the van into the shop and storage areas. Unfortunately, the delivery was delayed, so Subham had to leave before it arrived but thank you to him for coming along and being ready to help.

When the van did eventually turn up, there was plenty to shift, including fresh fruit, frozen goods and various other items. I worked with Kenny to transport everything into the store and down into the storage area.

Inside the shop, items are given a points value, which can change depending on stock levels, expiry dates and what needs moving on quickly. It’s a brilliant system: helping local people financially while also reducing food waste.

This is a regular Monday GoodGym Barnet session, so do look out for it and come along when you can. It’s practical, friendly, useful work and a great way to support the local community.

The weather may have been miserable, but everyone was certainly in high spirits! Including the Tesco deliverymen who had turned up (much to the surprise of Claire, the manager at the North Finchley Community Grocer) earlier than expected! And so, as soon as we arrived for our mission, we had the quickest of introductions and then it was straight on to helping bring the cage trolleys (which were filled with fresh fruit and veg as well as bread and cartons of oat milk) up the winding slope to the entrance.

Once all of the produce was inside, and the empty crates had been returned to the Tesco deliverymen, the volunteers quickly divvied out the goods for storage and sale and brought them to their respective locations. Once done, we dismantled the cage trolleys, ready to be stored.

Subham headed into the store to help out with restocking the shelves, while Jack headed down into the basement with Kenny, (who enthusiastically regaled him with story of when he wore a kilt in Thailand for his wedding!), to store the extra produce in the various store rooms and fridges!

As we said our thanks and goodbyes, the store was bustling with customers, which on a grey, rainy Monday, was wonderful to see!

Paul and I snuck down to the Community Grocery in North Finchley again this week. An unspecified shipment of goods were expected once again from the Felix Project and we were there to intercept and unload the merchandise.

Wearing our trusty Goodgym disguises, we hung around inconspicuously with Gus at the entrance pretending to be a dog therapy unit. Then the delivery van arrived and we hotfooted it up and down the ramp with cages and trolleys, unloading the shipment.

A parking attended briefly stopped to ask how long the trick would be sat in the electric charging space, but we kept our cool, didn't break our cover, and got the job done in record time.

An excellent way to start the week!