Kathy and David Bland from our diocese were two of thousands of guests at Buckingham Palace for a garden party today, where William and the Princess of Wales represented the King alongside the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh.
Kathy, Messy Church lead in the diocese, holds a number of voluntary roles alongside her paid employment, including Chair of Leominster Foodbank. She is a regular spokesperson who campaigns against food poverty and better welfare provision, so families and individuals can afford to eat and live.
She explains: "It is a great privilege to be here [at Buckingham Palace] today. I was nominated alongside my husband, David, for work raising awareness of food poverty and [he for] food waste."
David pioneered the Foodshare project at St Martin's Church in South Wye, where he collects surplus food from local supermarkets and shares this with local people to reduce food waste and combat hunger.
David and Kathy add: “It was a huge surprise that we both received an invitation for our work. It means we were each able to bring a guest today, which is a real privilege. It was lovely (and slightly surreal) to catch up with Bishop Richard for a chat in the gardens of Buckingham Palace too."