On Friday 14th November 2025, a group of CQSD colleagues, including members of the TEL and OC teams, volunteered at Reading’s ReadiFood foodbank as part of the University’s commitment to community engagement. The team delivered food and toiletry items collected within CQSD, and then spent the morning sorting donations (mainly tins) ready for other volunteers to make up into food parcels. 
Funded by the Faith Christian Group charity, ReadiFood delivers emergency food parcels to clients referred to them, either directly to homes or via various agencies. They also support a network of nine food pantries in communities across the town and run an evening food van to help feed vulnerable people (they had fed sixty people the evening before the team’s visit). The charity recently secured funds from the University’s Community Engagement Fund to improve some if its core programmes.
The CQSD team felt it was a worthwhile use of a morning and were pleased to be able to support an important community cause. The morning was organised by Vicki Holmes (Head of TEL): “It’s wonderful that the University encourages and supports volunteering. This was our first time – it was a positive and interesting experience, and I’d recommend it to other teams.”
Find out more about Readifood, their work and how you can volunteer or support them.
CQSD TEL