The run-up to Christmas is always a busy time for us at FareShare Greater Manchester. We make sure all our Community Food Members have the stock they need for the festive period. Additionally, there is always extra work that comes our way at this time of year.
Each year, the Buckingham Emergency Food Appeal (BEFA) delivers food to additional North West charities. These charities cater to those in need at Christmas. Our Openshaw warehouse serves as the BEFA hub for this region each December. We have been doing this for more than a decade.
BEFA first began 39 years ago after founder and farmer, Mike Buckingham, took his children to the theatre in central London. On the trip, they saw homeless people sleeping under Waterloo Bridge and learned that they were going to be served Christmas dinner at the homeless charity Crisis. Mike went to Crisis, said he was a farmer and asked what he could do to help with the Christmas meal.
That first year, they collected £750 worth of food, put it onto a lorry and took it to London to support the Crisis Christmas dinner. The Buckingham Emergency Food Appeal was born and has been going ever since.
BEFA in the North West
Over the years, the BEFA operation has grown from just serving central London and uses FareShare Greater Manchester as a hub for charities in the North West of England. This year, BEFA is hoping to support 200 charities, many of whom are supporting people who are homeless and vulnerable.
Last week, we distributed food to 46 North West charities and community groups thanks to the BEFA food delivery which included turkeys, vegetables, Christmas puddings & other food stuffs too.
We couldn’t have managed the BEFA redistribution this year without our brilliant corporate volunteers from Garic and Hive Projects. They were brilliant. Thank you so much guys!
Learn more about the Buckingham Emergency Food Project.
