 Feeding thousands and cutting food waste
Have you heard of SHARE Wokingham? The volunteer group provides food to about 2,500 residents each week, for free, to help reduce food waste and support those struggling with the cost of living.
Since its launch in 2020 it has saved more than 1,000 tonnes of food from being wasted.
All the stock is surplus or end of day items from local supermarkets (Waitrose, M&S, Tesco, Morrisons and Lidl) and food suppliers which would otherwise go to waste.
The group’s newest site in Arborfield (pictured) has just been confirmed to continue running fortnightly through the summer. You can check the dates on our website.
SHARE’s teams run sites in Woodley, Wokingham, Shinfield, Finchampstead and beyond each week. If you’re struggling with the cost of living, this group could support you.
 How your Council Tax is being spent
Our costs are rising significantly which meant we had to make the difficult decision to increase Council Tax this year to keep our essential services running.
We want to be as open and transparent about how every £1 of your council tax money is split across the five areas of the council:
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35p: Adult Social Care - including Adult Safeguarding, Adult Social Care and Public Health
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23p: Children’s Services - including Child Safeguarding, Children’s Social Care, Corporate Parenting and School Support
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29p: Place and Growth - including Transport and Highways, Waste and Recycling, Planning, Community Safety, Parks and Open Spaces
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7p: Resources and Assets - including Finance, Governance and Democratic Process, Procurement, Property and Assets
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6p: Chief Executive’s Office - including Libraries, Climate Emergency, IT, HR and Communications
You probably use many of these services every day without realising or thinking about how they’re funded, whether that’s street lighting, highway maintenance, drainage, bin collections, schools, parks, libraries or leisure centres.
We also provide services you may not need right now, or may never need, like social care for adults and children. These services are vital to many residents and are where most of our money is actually spent.
 Get ready for half-term at Dinton Pastures
The half-term break (29 May to 2 June) is fast approaching and Dinton Activity Centre has a range of activities in store to keep your children entertained.
Here’s your options if you’re looking to book:
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Wild Days Holiday Club – children aged eight to 13 - take part in two different land or water activities in a half-day session, such as archery, fencing, zip wire, kayaking, raft building, stand-up or paddleboarding (£32 per session)
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Junior Sailing Week – children aged eight to 13 - covers stage one to four of the Royal Yachting Association (RYA) Youth Sailing Programme
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Teen Sailing Week – children aged 13 to 17 - helping them work toward the adult RYA Level 1 and 2 scheme
You can check school term dates on our website.
 Supporting children impacted by domestic abuse
We’re funding a new programme, being run in partnership with local charity Kaleidoscopic UK, to help and support children and young people affected by domestic abuse.
‘The Freedom Programme’ is designed to help all children who are living with, or have been subjected to, any form of domestic abuse, to heal effectively from their trauma.
The interactive programme will be delivered by survivors, who have expert knowledge of the trauma caused by domestic abuse. They will explore the individual needs of the child while equipping them with the tools and knowledge to help them move forward.
For children aged five to 11-years-old, the group weekly sessions will take place in person, and for 11 to 16-year-olds, the sessions will be online.
Referrals from professional or parents are welcome and can be made via the Kaleidoscopic website or by sending an email to kaleidoscopicuk@gmail.com
What you might have missed
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