Community Support & Networking
We believe that community engagement is vital to all of us. We connect with enterprises across Nottinghamshire and beyond to create a positive network of support.
We believe that community engagement is vital to all of us. We connect with enterprises across Nottinghamshire and beyond to create a positive network of support.
Jessie wanted to work within the community. She began with a smoothie bike and when she was invited to a community BBQ, Jill saw the potential in the bike as a business.
Jessie applied to the Youth Opportunities Fund successfully and received enough money to purchase what they needed to get Pulp Friction started.
Our "dig-in" allotment is based in Stapleford and offers our members an opportunity to start growing fruit and trees.
Our wormery, provided by "Urban Worm" gives our members a chance to learn about sustainability and composting.
In 2020, we acquired a polytunnel at our Head Quarters, offering members a chance to learn about vegetable growth.
We work closely with FareShare, the nation "no waste" chain, who provide us with food that would have otherwise gone to waste.
Over the last 13 years, we have acquired 3 smoothie bikes which allow us to showcase the great work we do at events across the Midlands.
We expanded into also having an Ice Cream bike which has added a little quirk to events that we have attended.
Our Ice Cream tricycle takes us back to a simpler time, offering people at events the option to buy straight from the freezer on the front of the trike.
Our travelling kitchen provides the community with essential insight into what we do here at Pulp Friction. It also offers our members a chance to develop relationships and communication skills out in the community.
Our development centre is based at our HQ and offers our members a safe space to learn, grow and develop their skills.
One of our new enterprises is the Nottinghamshire Police Services. We aim to support them in a similar way to the Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service.
A food hygiene certificate is one of the first qualifications our members acquire. This is essential when working in the food industry.
Many of our members aim to enter the workplace. Providing them with the opportunity to develop good customer service skills is included in our workshop programme.
We offer first Aid training for our staff and members. Having a first aid qualification is an important addition to a CV.
The Atmosphere Glee Choir was established in 2010. When our regular Friday sessions could no longer happen due to the lockdown, we needed to find a new way to keep our singers connected. Together we discovered Zoom choir – a way in which choir could continue throughout the pandemic whilst ensuring the safety of all our members. In late 2021 we slowly returned back to face to face sessions but retained the Zoom element for more vulnerable members.
At HQ members work on several different catering skills including chopping, peeling, making sandwiches, side salads, baking and many more. Members also work on cleaning jobs including using the dishwasher and wiping down surfaces.
Key roles in the catering team include making lunch for all members who are present that day (unless they have brought their lunch), making customers’ orders and making meals and cakes for orders outside of the canteen.
Members get to improve their customer service skills working with customers and other members and staff in the canteen. Members work on these practical skills when working in the Catering Team.
Alongside work in the kitchen, we have the Grow and Learn Team. Members in this group participate in workshops and activities based on food hygiene and food safety to ensure everyone has the correct knowledge to work safely in the Catering Team.
The Grow and Learn team also support our members to develop additional skills outside of those developed in the kitchen. Members get to do gardening, arts and crafts, walks, topical workshops, and exercise workshops alongside other opportunities too.
At present we have 40+ members who attend Pulp Friction weekly, we have space on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. If you are interested in joining us on a Monday or Tuesday, you can be placed on our waiting list. We are now able to offer more places everyday!
Potential members, parents and social care workers are invited to HQ for an induction.
We will invite you in for a full taster day.
If the full taster day is enjoyed, then we will book our new member in for their first day!
After 6 weeks, we will conduct the first one-to-one review to discuss the great progress made.
We will then check in every six months to be sure that our new member is getting everything they need from us.