Charity extends festive lifeline into new year
AS the festive season fades into January, food banks will be confronting a surge in demand during the initial months of the new year.
While December typically witnesses an outpouring of donations and volunteer support, the following months pose significant challenges for these vital charities.
One food bank volunteer is familiar with this shift from witnessing this struggle first-hand.
“After a festive period where there’s over-spending and cold weather in unison to rising bills is where we see our most difficult months as a charity,” Sunita Parsons-solomon said.
Sunita joined Humans MCR - a food bank charity doing incredible work to tackle hunger in Rochdale and other parts of Greater Manchester in 2022 and was surprised by the huge demand for help and how hard it was to get resources during the new year.
She said: “I was really shocked by how hard we were hit in January and February. These months are already more depressing than others - I certainly find that even though personally I’m comfortable and can feed myself and pay bills.
“So when you include factors such as not being able to feed yourself or your kids it can add to those extra struggles to what are already those cold and depressing months that might help people emphasise with the situation our clients are in - during that time donations are really needed.”
Humans MCR seeks to transform the traditional method of food banks through opting to deliver food parcels across Manchester, Salford, Rochdale, Stockport, Trafford and Bury.
The charity also offers choice over what people eat, with vegetarian, vegan, halal and gluten free options available.
The food bank charity expected to deliver festive ‘Xmas hampers’ to 800 people in our region.
Delivered on December 23, these hampers were filled with everything a family needs for Christmas dinner and gifts for children and treats for adults.
Their work meant hundreds of families were able to have a real festive Christmas. But they need your help. The charity is relying on remaining funds from these donations to support individuals and families in their most challenging months of January and February.
Lewey Hellewell, who founded Humans MCR after his own experiences using food banks, says it’s ‘really clear’ when the festive period fades for people in need.
“January is a really difficult month for us - it’s clear when the festivities fade and the weather turns.
“But it’s February when we see the real struggles.
“Families will have had to put gifts or Christmas dinners onto a credit card and when that bill lands in January people are forced to make difficult choices on how to pay.
“They’re really busy months for us and horrible for people facing poverty.
“We hope that providing food support might alleviate some of that pressure and help free money up for people,” Lewey said.
Humans MCR on average delivers to 300 people a week - but this time of year that amount skyrockets above 500.
But despite the enormous pressure to keep up with increasing demand, donations are dropping.
“In previous years, the appeal has been successful - this year it’s much slower. It’s the people who have had significant increases to their mortgage this year that tend to be part of the group of people who would have donated - and they’re so stretched now they just can’t do it,” he said.
He added: “The funds we raise in December through very generous public donations will go towards supporting the Christmas project - absolutely anything left over is hugely beneficial to support clients in those really dark and difficult months at the beginning of the year.”
The charity’s main concern is relieving people in food poverty through ‘respect, health, dignity and hope’ by providing a number of services to those struggling.
But Human MCR’S primary mission is to help break intergenerational cycles of poverty by helping people with emergency food packages until they are ready to transition to their community grocers’ programme, where they can buy groceries at massively reduced prices.
Partnered with Aldi, Lidl, Morrisons, and Fareshare, Humans MCR receives donations of perfectly good food that would otherwise be wasted. With the food they save from these combined, they estimate they are able to feed at least 400 people a week.
Any local community professional – such as a GP, local MP, or school pastoral care worker – can refer individuals to the charity.
Once referred, they can access emergency food packages delivered discreetly to their doorstep using unmarked vans.
If you are able to give anything at all, Humans MCR can make it go a long way. £10 will give a single person a food package for three days, £30 will feed a family of four for three days.
If you are unable to donate, you can still help by sharing the charity’s content to make sure people know Humans MCR exist and are able to support them.