SUPERGRAN!
JOAN ,97, HELPS PROVIDE NEEDY FAMILIES WITH 70,000MEALS IN A YEAR
A BIG-HEARTED great-gran aged 97 has helped to provide needy families with an estimated 70,000 meals in the last year.
Joan Hibberd began helping Stretford Foodbank when she turned 90 and has been a volunteer there ever since.
Believed to be the UK’s oldest foodbank volunteer, the mum-of-six has 13 grandchildren and 17 greatgrandchildren.
Joan collected many of the donations at Stretford Mall, which hosts the foodbank’s volunteers every Saturday between 10am and 4pm.
There, kind-hearted customers have donated the equivalent of 10,000 meals in the last 12 months and handed over almost £5,000 in cash.
Joan, a regular shopper at Stretford Mall, said the sense of community she experiences being part of the foodbank’s activities reminded her of how people pulled together to support each other during the Second World War.
Joan said: “It’s amazing to see the difference it makes to people’s lives, I can’t tell you enough how thankful people are. Some people have been sleeping on the riverbank and they haven’t even got a tin opener. A lot of people have got jobs but they just don’t have enough money to pay their bills and feed their family that week for one reason or another.”
Joan trained as a dressmaker and had just finished a four-year apprenticeship when the Second World War broke out. After being a mother, a butcher’s assistant at Stretford Market and a lollipop lady – and after having lost husband Harry – she decided to volunteer at her local foodbank.
“When I was growing up we didn’t have a lot of money, but we were in it together and we helped each other out. That same feeling needs to carry on,” said Joan. “People who are doing well need to keep an eye out for anyone who is struggling – it might be the people next door.”
The charity needs more volunteers over the age of 18 to help with jobs including sorting and weighing donations, lifting crates of food, packing food, stacking shelves, driving donations between locations, and dealing with support agencies.
Joan said: “It’s a much bigger job than people realise. If we are going to keep the foodbank going we need more young people to come in and take our place.”
Gareth Wilkins, centre manager at Stretford Mall, said: “It is wonderful that people like Joan volunteer their time week-in, week-out. What a fantastic contribution!”
Louise Kershaw, trustee and volunteer co-ordinator for Stretford Foodbank, said on average service-users receive three emergency food parcels in six months.
She said: “The foodbank means so much to our users. It’s the difference between being able to feed their family and not. Some people might only come once, while others need more regular support for up to six months.
“We have a lot of people who would be classed as the working poor, they might be on a low wage or on a zero hours contract, and it doesn’t take much to tip them into poverty.
“Something like a car tyre needing to be fixed, that might cost £80, and that might just tip them over-budget and that’s when they need help. Most people are quite good at managing on their budget. It’s the sudden unexpected expense which puts them in crisis. We also have hundreds of people waiting to go on Universal Credit, and with other people it’s addiction issues, or accommodation problems or mental health problems that mean they need support Everyone has got their own story.”
Stretford Foodbank distributes food to the needy from the Trafford Christian Life Centre on Barton Road in Stretford.