Could you give 2-3 hours per week to help Bedford families flourish?

Food etc. empowers people to make better food choices by teaching them how to cook inexpensive, healthy meals  from scratch. They work with a wide variety of people, including with parents and children in schools, supporting homeless communities, with women who have experience domestic abuse, and the elderly.

As a growing organisation Food etc. is looking for more volunteers to help deliver its courses.

You don’t need any formal qualifications, you simply need to have a passion for cooking and healthy eating and confidence to talk in front of groups of varying ages.

Find out more about volunteering for Food etc. on their website, check out their socials @foodetcbedford, email them at hello@foodetc.org.uk or call Julie Clay on 07970 115181.

Foster Hill Road Cemetery needs volunteers to help with tasks such as gardening, light maintenance, removing ivy and litter-picking. No experience is necessary and no matter how fit (or not) you are, there will be something you can help with.

Without the support of volunteers, places like our beautiful Victorian chapel and cemetery would eventually be lost, along with all their secrets and treasures.

If you would like to know more about volunteering please email info@fosterhillroadcemetery.co.uk. Or you can visit the chapel on a Thursday morning at 11am for a welcoming cuppa, biscuit, and to meet the friendly volunteers. 

If you are interested in volunteering at one of Bedford’s most iconic parks, which is steeped in history and visited over 350,000 times every year, then please get in contact with volunteering@bedford.gov.uk

We are looking to restart volunteering activities in the park this spring and would love to welcome new members. The park is located off Park Avenue, Bedford MK40 2LR, and sessions usually take place on the first Sunday of each month, with options to attend at different times as the group becomes more established. Activities will range from planting and weeding, to coppicing and cleaning. No previous experience is necessary.

The community herb garden on Rothsay Road roundabout is maintained solely by volunteers. Everyone is welcome to come and pick a few herbs and attend the regular one hour care sessions. To join the volunteers, just turn up on one of the following dates, please bring hand tools and gloves if you have them, there are spares usually available.

The next volunteer care sessions are;

• Saturday March 1, 3pm
• Sunday March 23, 11.30pm
• Sunday April 6, 3pm
• Saturday April 26, 10am

Come and join our community litter pick and help tidy the river banks and surrounding areas.

Meeting point is St Marys Garden, next to Town Bridge and behind Bedford College - What3Words location is ///bowls.rushed.translated.

Free car parking is available for all volunteers in the Borough Hall car park.

All equipment is supplied, but please wear suitable clothing and sturdy footwear.

Every year, Grow Wild supports young people, communities, individuals and organisations through their grant programmes.

They are now launching their 2025 opportunities, starting with Community Programme grants. If you're part of a group with ambitions to transform an urban space, with ideas to help connect local people with nature, you can apply for a £2,000 community grant. 

Applications for the 2025 Grow Wild Community Programme are now open, applications must be made by 3pm on  Thursday 13 February.