Throughout Greater Manchester, there are charities doing their best to support those at the harshest end of food poverty, using whatever resources are available to them to help their local community, tackling food poverty, its root causes and endemic food waste.
Wigan’s Fur Clemt are no different. They’ve been working in partnership with FareShare Greater Manchester since 2016, but their history goes back to 2014 when they started as a partnership between The Brick, Wigan Parish Church and Food Positive. Over the years, they have grown to be one of FareShare GM’s largest charity partners and distribute food on our behalf to other pantries and food clubs in the area.
In 2023, they’ve moved on from their early days tackling holiday hunger and now run a community shop and cafe, with bundles of wrap-around support on offer as well. Their move to a former primary school, mid-pandemic, in 2021 has enabled them to go further and do that little bit more for the local community, and they now have over 4,100 active members making use of their facilities.
Membership is open to all, no matter your circumstances, and referrals aren’t needed in order to be able to go along and shop. For just a £5 fee per year, members can shop twice a week and choose from a selection of ambient, fridge and freezer goods, plus a wide range of fresh produce.
Their cafe is open five days a week and utilises produce and stock from FareShare GM to cook healthy, low-cost meals from breakfast sandwiches to full, hot lunches. The cafe is open to all and also provides a warm space for a nice, warm drink and the time to catch up with friends.
“Working with FareShare allows us to support our community by offering fresh, frozen and ambient products to our members. Our project promotes dignity and choice and allows our members to feel good about making a difference to our planet by reducing food waste.”
Shirley Southworth
Fur Clemt Director
Emmie’s Kitchen is a family-run initiative in the heart of Manchester. They play a vital role in providing nourishment and support to parents with poorly children in the Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital. Jacqueline, one of the driving forces behind Emmie’s Kitchen, highlighted the impact of their partnership with FareShare Greater Manchester:
“We provide 80 snack bags which are delivered to the parents every Friday. Without the food donations provided by FareShare Greater Manchester the parents may not have anything to eat. The families really look forward to getting the snack bags on a Friday and say it feels like a normal evening, where they can get together and enjoy the food and have their siblings join in with them.”
Emmie’s Kitchen has redistributed 8400kg of food from FareShare GM since June 2020. However, their work extends beyond the snack bags. They also deliver weekly takeaways, where families are treated to indulgent meals like fish and chips or Indian curries. Some parents have had to endure their children being hospitalised for extended periods, sometimes spanning years. In these difficult times, the Friday snack bags become something for families to look forward to. They can last for several days. With access only to a kettle and a microwave, the fresh fruits, ambient goods, and ready-made meals provided by FareShare Greater Manchester provide access to food, without parents needing to purchase food from the supermarket, which could be a financial burden during an already stressful period.
Emmie, the namesake of the organisation, recently won the Young Volunteer of the Year Award at the Spirit of Manchester Awards. You can watch their video in this Spirit of Manchester Awards feature.
Near Salford Quays and Ordsall, sits Oasis Academy: MediaCityUK. It’s a secondary school serving over 1,000 pupils from the area. However, as well as a school, the site also hosts the Oasis Community Hub. They have been a member of FareShare Greater Manchester since 2022.
Although they have been operating for a number of years, they sprung up providing emergency food during the pandemic. They’ve been cooking meals in the hub kitchen and delivering them to homes in the area. It’s been a huge help for families who weren’t able to get out themselves.
As the pandemic restrictions drew to a close, and the world opened up again, the Oasis team wanted to do something a little bit different. They opened a Community Food Store in July 2022, serving the local areas of Ordsall and Langworthy. Membership is open to everyone. Some members are school parents but most value the Hub for its community feel, regardless of school affiliation.
“We wouldn’t be able to open without FareShare. It helps us introduce eyes and minds to new foods and meals, and the money we save by purchasing from FareShare lets us top-up our Store from elsewhere, to give people a great range.”
Hannah Miller
Hub Leader
In the first week, only six visited the Food Store but by mid-July 2023, over 25 families attend weekly, with 60 members. Members can join for £5 annually and then shop weekly for £3.50 per visit.
At this cost, members access 10-12 items from dry storage, fridges and freezers. Fresh produce and bread are free, promoting healthy eating through Oasis team efforts. They like being able to give members the choice of what they believe their family will eat.
As time has gone on, the team have seen more members engaging with other projects in the Hub. This includes their Toddler groups and the Talk English Cafe, as well as finding a sense of belonging in the community food store itself. Others use the cafe space as a place to meet and socialise before picking up their week’s shopping. Other projects to widen the offer are in the pipeline, including cooking and fitness classes.
Building that sense of community is incredibly important to the whole team, with an emphasis on making sure that what the members of what that community want to see is represented. They’re constantly trying to get feedback on what they do, and want the space to be one where people can feel at home.
“All shall be well, and all manner of thing shall be well.”- Julian of Norwich
The Well, based in St Peters House on Oxford Road was set up as a response to student food insecurity in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic. The name ‘The Well’ was taken from a quote from Julian of Norwich, which was written during the outbreak of the plague in the 1300s. Her radical optimism during this period is what inspired The Well to honour her in their name.
During the Covid-19 lockdowns, many students were able to return home for family support. However, there were also those left – often unseen and feeling forgotten – on campus. Some of these students were estranged from their families, some were Care Leavers, and some were asylum-seeking students with no home to return to. These students found they were cut off from their usual ‘safety nets’ of support. They also found themselves part of a stigmatised community, as they were blamed by the media for the spread of the virus. They often ended up suffering from poor mental health, isolation, and no access to finance or food.
The Well provides a weekly ‘Well Pack’ which includes meal kits for each night of the week. They design the menu around the daily recipes, and each pack comes with step-by-step instructions and everything needed to cook up a storm!
The team adapts recipes to use surplus food from FareShare GM. Each recipe is designed to complement one another and reduce food waste. They also make sure that there is enough food in each pack to supplement breakfast, lunch and snacks. This enables students who are facing food insecurity to eat nutritious food throughout the week. Students unable to cook fresh meals for themselves due to mental or physical health difficulties are provided with ready-made or cooked and frozen meals.
In 2020, 35% of students surveyed reported low or very low levels of food security. 41% were worried that their food would run out. Students also experienced increased mental health struggles, which was directly associated with the low levels of food security. A more recent study, published in 2023, suggests that the problem hasn’t gone away since the pandemic ended. Student hardship is particularly prominent in the North West, where 60% of respondents indicated they were facing food insecurity.
The Well accepts self-referrals and referrals from staff at any of the Manchester Universities. They will accept the referral of anyone who asks for help (or is referred) who is a student or staff member at any of the Manchester Universities and – depending on capacity – can take referrals from within the M15 community.
The Well is part of the wider work of St Peter’s House, the Chaplaincy to the Universities in Manchester. Alongside their food offer, The Well also provide a diverse range of holistic well-being resources. They offer an accessible and diverse Wholeness Programme, and a volunteer-led community café – Milk & Honey. The team at St Peter’s House are always available to talk to and be alongside the campus community.
The Manchester Settlement Food Pantry is an initiative driven by community volunteers who saw how people in the neighbourhood were struggling as the cost of living crisis started to set in. Partnering with Manchester Settlement provided the structure needed to grow this idea into the bustling food pantry it is today. The team provide a ‘big shop’ for around 30 individuals/families each week at a very reduced rate.
Tea, coffee and a friendly chat is available while the pantry members wait for the team to fill their bags. Whilst online Citizens Advice meetings are also offered at this time to address other issues that they may be facing.
More recently, Manchester Settlement staff and pantry volunteers have taken part in the FareShare Slow Cooker Project. This enabled cookery classes to be delivered to the pantry members and they then received a free slow cooker to help towards the cost of cooking in the current energy crisis. The response has been amazing with over 20 slow cookers given out.
This project was then rolled out to other community projects at Manchester Settlement with a further 40 slow cookers filtering into the community. Since joining FareShare in March 2021, Manchester Settlement have distributed 43.45 tonnes of food. This equates to around 103,450 meals.
“It’s been a huge privilege to be part of the FSGM slow cooker project! There has been such joy in the room as people bounced slow cooker recipes around, tried new food, or in some cases learnt about slow cookers and the energy saving benefits for the first time.”
Nic Ward
Manchester Settlement Community Manager
Your Local Pantry is a franchise project set up by Foundations Stockport in partnership with Church Action on Poverty. Residents in need in the community pay a small weekly fee of £3.50. In return, they can visit their local pantry and choose ten items of food each week for them and their family. The value of a typical food basket is around £20, saving members hundreds of pounds a year.
There are five Your Local Pantries in operation in Stockport, with a total of more than 40 across the country as a whole. This includes one of our other community food members, Lighthouse Pantry in Middleton.
The pantries run on the ethos that people have the ability to choose their own food and enjoy a tea or coffee with others while at the pantry, which helps to tackle social isolation and build a sense of community.
“It helps our food budget go further, which in turn leads to less stress, also there’s a social side to it. There’s a group of us who always meet up now, we go to Pantry together, have a brew together, we’ve become great friends, and we’re from three different generations! That’s great for people’s mental wellbeing.”
A member of Brinnington Pantry
Stockport
During the pandemic, Your Local Pantry had to adapt its model significantly. As a result, they teamed up with Stockport Council to provide emergency parcels to anyone struggling for food. From March to June, they delivered 4,756 food parcels to households that were vulnerable or self-isolating. This includes:
This was an amazing achievement, considering they are:
During the summer holidays, they also provided over 500 free packed lunches to families in the area. In addition, they recently piloted a new family membership scheme to provide a little bit more to families in need.
Since the pandemic, there has been an influx of 10-15 new members sign up each week. Accordingly, the five pantries in Stockport now regularly support around 200 households.
“Without FareShare GM we wouldn’t have been able to operate on the scale we have been during the pandemic. They have provided fantastic amounts of food which reached hundreds of people within the borough. It’s just myself, the pantry assistant and our volunteers, so without the food coming in or being delivered we wouldn’t have been able to sustain the pantry model.
We get brilliant feedback from our members about the food. What people really love about what we receive from FareShare is the variety. They love the aspect of never quite knowing what they’ll get, that’s the beauty of it! I want to say thank you so much to FareShare GM and all the volunteers that help day in, day out. Without them we wouldn’t be able to open. We’re now looking to set up another pantry in Stockport so FareShare GM’s support will be vital for us as we move forward.”
Elena Vacca
Community Food Officer
You can read more about the great work of Your Local Pantry across the country in their 2021 Social Impact Report.
1st image: Elena (right) and pantry assistant Maz, taken before COVID-19.
2nd image: Your Local Pantry’s partner, First Stop Café in Brinnington, provided meals during the school holidays.
Before the COVID-19 crisis, Poplar Street Primary School in Tameside received weekly FareShare GM deliveries for its breakfast and after-school clubs, providing food for children in a borough where one in five are growing up below the poverty line.
When the first lockdown hit in March 2020, Headteacher, Iain Linsdell, knew he had to find a way to keep getting food onto the plates of his most vulnerable pupils. Thanks to the amazing efforts of its teachers and staff, the school switched to distributing food parcels to local families and has become a vital support hub for the community.
Since the first lockdown, Poplar Street distributed nearly 16 tonnes of FareShare food to local families, equivalent to over 37,000 meal portions. At the height of the pandemic, the school was delivering almost 150 parcels a week.
“Our partnership with FareShare enabled us to become a different kind of community hub, so instead of families and kids coming to us, we’re going out to them. We were able to deliver high quality food from supermarkets and wholesalers straight to families’ doors. I had staff members meeting children, having that human connection and also doing a brilliant community service – and that’s what it’s all about.”
It’s keeping our community connected in a way that’s familiar and reassuring both to staff and children. It’s bringing a little bit of normality to everyone’s lives in these exceptional times. Working with FareShare is just a brilliant win-win.”
Iain Linsdell
Headteacher
Iain’s tireless work to support his community has been truly inspirational and has helped us all remember how important it is to work as hard as we can to help others through the current crisis.
Watch the short film below to learn more about Poplar Street’s amazing efforts:
These stories from Poplar Street Primary during the lockdown resonate as a reminder of the strength of collective resilience and the boundless capacity for human kindness. They illuminate the path forward—where communities unite to uplift the most vulnerable, leaving no one behind.
Cre8 Macclesfield is a charity and social enterprise providing activities and services for children, young people and young adults. During the first COVID-19 lockdown in 2020, Cre8 joined the FareShare Greater Manchester network. Consequently, converting its surplus food grocery into a home delivery service to get ready-made food parcels to people’s doorsteps.
Elderly and vulnerable individuals were cut off from their usual support networks. FareShare food enabled Cre8 to address the vast need in its local community. They were able to scale-up operations to run five days a week, reaching up to 150 households per week. They were also able to regularly provide ingredients to the nearby Hope Centre cafe in Macclesfield. This cafe produces home-cooked frozen meals for the most vulnerable in the community.
Since joining FareShare, Cre8 Macclesfield have utilised nearly 51 tonnes of food. Ultimately, that figures is among the highest in our entire network of over 220 members. This equates to around 120,000 meal portions.
“Those we support have described the help we were able to provide as ‘lifesaving’ and it’s only with Fareshare GM’s support that we were able to do this. Becoming a new member during COVID-19 was a simple process, and we were helped every step of the way by the volunteers and staff on-site at the Manchester depot. It has made such a difference to our food offering and really helped our community across Macclesfield.
I am struck by the sense of belonging and togetherness being part of the FareShare network has brought us. Alongside the worry and fear of new challenges that we are facing daily, we are so aware of the sense of community that being part of the network has brought us.
Our trips to FareShare are full of hope. Often when we took food that was close to its use by date, that would mean driving back late and driving round the streets to get the food out. The response was always joyful. The sense of family and belonging and that we will get through this together, being part of something bigger, has helped our small charity survive and our community feel loved, which is needed now more than ever.”
Ameera Fletcher
Director at Cre8
In reflecting on this journey, Ameera Fletcher, Director of Cre8 Macclesfield, expressed profound gratitude for the transformation that FareShare GM’s support brought to their community. This alliance not only bolstered their food offerings but also cultivated a profound sense of unity and belonging during challenging times. The smiles ignited by a meal, the comfort of a warm dish, and the reassurance of a caring community—all underscore the impact that collaborative efforts can have. As the world navigates the post-pandemic landscape, stories like Cre8’s serve as a testament to the resilience and compassion that bind us together, promising a brighter and more compassionate future.
The Lighthouse Pantry, located in Middleton, Rochdale, is a membership-based food club that aims to help families reduce their weekly food costs, especially during challenging times. Since its establishment in March 2019, the Pantry has been providing essential support to the local community. However, with the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, the demand for food distribution has significantly increased.
During lockdown, the Lighthouse Pantry faced a significant challenge like finding new charity volunteers in Manchester. This was because most of their existing team had to go into self-isolation. Fortunately, several regular visitors and pantry members stepped up to fill the void. Angela and Alwayne, as shown in the picture above with Pantry Manager Carl Roach, were among them.
The Lighthouse Pantry’s second big challenge was was securing enough food to serve the growing number of families requiring help. Thanks to FareShare GM’s assistance, they secured an extra food delivery. This allowed them to open for an additional day and increase the number of members they could support. From April to August, the Pantry utilised over 9 tonnes of food. They recorded 1,140 attendances during 63 Pantry sessions. Additionally, they provided assistance to 115 different families with their weekly food shopping needs.
“With the support of FareShare GM, we were able to secure an additional delivery of food to the Pantry, which then meant we could open for an additional day and also increase the number of members that we could support. Because of this our project has grown – between April and August we used over 9 tonnes of food, recorded 1,140 attendances during 63 Pantry sessions and we have supported 115 different families with their weekly food shopping needs.
It is clear to see, in these challenging times, the significance of the FareShare food supplies and the positive impact that the Pantry model has had in helping families to reduce their weekly food costs, keeping them afloat in these times when monies are tight.”
Carl Roach
Pantry Project Manager at Lighthouse Pantry
The impact of FareShare food distribution and the Lighthouse Pantry model in helping families reduce their weekly food costs cannot be overstated, especially during these challenging times when finances are tight. The project has grown significantly, and the Pantry’s efforts continue to be appreciated by the community.
Overall, the Lighthouse Pantry and FareShare food distribution have been instrumental in supporting the community during these difficult times, and their efforts are commendable. You can find out more about the Lighthouse Pantry and how to support their cause by visiting their website at Lighthouse Pantry.
The Burnside Centre, a community centre in Langley, Rochdale, has been dedicated to aiding local residents through its food delivery project since early 2020. With weekly food supplies from FareShare Greater Manchester they provided essential groceries and daily hot meals to those in need.
Since May 2020, the Burnside Centre has delivered nearly 1,000 hot meals and over 700 grocery parcels. The hot meals are prepared fresh on-site and the recipes are shared on social media as cooking demonstrations.
Thanks to FareShare GM, the Burnside Centre has received almost one tonne of food, which has allowed them to continue supporting their community during these difficult times. The food parcels not only meet the need for food but also provide a friendly chat and check-in on those who may need extra support.
“Over the past few months we have received a combined weight of almost one tonne of food from FareShare Greater Manchester. Without this we would be unable to support our community in the way that we have. Often times the people we deliver to are socially isolated and during the pandemic have not been able to leave their house at all. By offering the food parcels we’re not only providing to the need of food, but we’re also able to offer a friendly doorstep chat and check in on those who may need a little extra support during this difficult time.
The consistent deliveries from FareShare have allowed us to keep in touch with our community and reach out to the individuals and families that need some form of support. We’re extremely grateful that we’ve been able to continue our work with the community and work on a project that so far has helped 140 individuals just on our local estate.”
Kaireen McDonald
Burnside Project Development Coordinator
The consistent deliveries from FareShare GM have enabled the Burnside Centre to keep in touch with the community and reach out to those who require food support in Rochdale. See what the Burnside Centre’s support means to its local community in our Lockdown Story film:
With their food delivery project, the Burnside Centre has shown how a small pot of funding and weekly food supplies from FareShare GM can make a big difference in the local community.
The Burnside Centre’s food delivery project has been a lifeline for many local families, especially those who are elderly or vulnerable. Thanks to their partnership with FareShare Greater Manchester, they have been able to provide essential food supplies and hot meals to those in need. The community centre has also been sharing their recipes on social media, encouraging people to try new dishes at home. The project has received support from several local businesses, including Fresh Direct Northwest, which has been supplying fresh fruits and vegetables. Learn more about Fresh Direct Northwest and their commitment to sustainability.
Discover how you can contribute to local food initiatives and support families in Rochdale. Together, we can make a difference!