Our Story

Two Loaves and Five Cans of Tuna!

A brief history of The Hope Project Foodbank, which is aimed at addressing social isolation and food poverty in the Wythenshawe area.

Background

On 18 March 2020, the foodbank and community café which had successfully run for three years from St Aidan’s Centre Wythenshawe, had to close in its present form.

Like many other foodbanks the challenges of lock own and the Covid 19 regulations seemed insurmountable.  Many of the experienced foodbank volunteers, from across the Catholic parishes in Wythenshawe, would reluctantly have to self-isolate.  The food donations had also stopped at a time when shops and supermarkets were struggling with food supply. Many of the referral agencies into the foodbank were to close, and the majority of those which remained open could no longer have direct contact with the public.  The paper referral form, given by referral agencies, to be handed in at the local foodbank, was now impossible to implement.

Leap of faith

It was against this backdrop, with no experienced volunteers, no food supply and no referral system, that The Hope Project was established.  This was a partnership between Caritas and the local Catholic community through Catholic Social Action Wythenshawe (CSAW).  The main aim was to continue the good work of the foodbank, to address food poverty and social isolation in Wythenshawe, particular at this challenging time.

It was a major leap of faith, but by the time lock down began on the 23 March 2020, a new foodbank had been set up inside the hall of the Centre, to comply with coronavirus regulations. An online referral system was in place with referral agencies joining.  New volunteers were coming on board and food donations were starting to arrive. Something magical was beginning to happen.

On a wing and a prayer

The Hope Project was only going to succeed if people put the collective self-interest of the local community ahead of their own.  This was against a backdrop of empty supermarket shelves, as some people panicked, and others acted selfishly with the stocking up of food.

Appeals for donations were put out on local social media sites, more in hope than expectation, at a time when so many people were struggling to find the basic essentials for themselves. To meet the growing number of referrals, the foodbank operation was extended to two full days each week. Rarely during this 3-month period was there enough food in stock to meet all the requests at the start of each week. It felt like the project was getting by on a wing and a prayer. Prayer became the key ingredient, which moved things forward in unexpected and extraordinary ways!

Two loaves and five fishes

At the end of one particular day, a few items remained on a table to be tidied away; two loaves of bread and five cans of tuna! Yes, not five loaves and two fishes, yet it jolted the senses and captured the moment.

The day had begun, like many foodbank days, with a stack of referrals but not enough food in stock to meet the demand.  Yet it ended, with all the referrals being delivered and more food on the shelves than at the start!  There was always enough. Not just in terms of food, but also volunteers to help rotate stock, as well as to prepare and deliver the food parcels to those in need across Wythenshawe.  As one volunteer said, “there is something really special happening here!”

Blessings

By June 2020, The Hope Project was delivering food for over 1,100 meals per week, beyond anything which could have been envisaged at the beginning.  At a time when supermarkets had run out of pasta, baked beans, toilet rolls and soap, the foodbank never did!

‘Ordinary’ peoples’ acts of kindness was helping to keep the project alive.  Bags of donated food were being placed in a designated area outside the Centre weekly by local people, many whose faces we did not see, due to Coronavirus restrictions.  One mother, who we did see, expressed embarrassment at “giving just three cans of food” but wanting “to do something to help.”  This captured the spirit of giving, at a time of struggle for many.  Alongside this, a number of people from across the parishes of Wythenshawe, and others who had connections to the Centre, were organising friends to donate food or fundraise to buy items the foodbank was short of.  This also helped to maintain a stock of halal meat, as the foodbank had always striven to be inclusive of the diverse community it served.

This ‘organised giving’ helped fill the gaps in the foodbank provisions, but it wasn’t requested, people just acted.

The common good

During these dark days, it was evident that so many people and groups were committed to working for the common good.  The Muslim community made very generous donations through Cheadle Mosque and the Human Appeal Foundation.  Holy Angel’s Church, Hale Barns and teachers from Catholic schools in Wythenshawe made regular but unexpected donations.  Cracking Good Food donated freshly cooked meals weekly, which just needed reheating. This added another dimension to the work of the food bank and was gratefully received by many older people The Hope Project was supporting.

A young woman, who woke up one day and decided to fundraise to help stock food banks in South Manchester, arrived at the Centre in the run up to Pentecost Sunday, with 30 bags of much need donations.  A week later, on her 27^th birthday, she arrived in a big van with £100’s of pounds of stock, bought from an online birthday fundraiser she had organised!

Similarly, a couple marked their 44^th wedding anniversary with a donation of food bought from money they would have used to buy presents and to celebrate.

Holy Spirit

So many times over the last three months when it looked like the food bank would run out of food, something wonderful would happen. So much so, that all the volunteers working on the project expressed in different ways that something beyond them was moving the project forward.  There was no talk of luck or good fortune, but plenty about ‘blessings’ and ‘the work of the holy spirit.’  The volunteers who had to reluctantly self-isolate, continued to make a significant contribution through prayer.

Supporting the sick and vulnerable

The most precious resource was new volunteers who willingly gave their time and energy, not easy during a pandemic.  This, alongside the 100’s of people who donated food, enabled The Hope Project to support a board range of people, many on a weekly basis.

Some of these were people over 70 who lived alone and had no family members to support them during this period.  Others were people who struggled with mental or physical health conditions where ‘lock-down’ made life even more challenging.  Some were families who struggled due to a sudden fall or loss of income.

The project also supported refugees, NHS staff, young people living alone and people or families who were suspected of contracting the virus.  For many, the regular weekly human contact in a phone call was as valued as the food package.  On receiving the Cracking Good Food meals one man in his 80’s described it “like eating in the Savoy!”  Another young woman with social anxiety, who would normally only shop in the early hours of the morning, to avoid crowds, captured what many others had expressed in different ways; “I simply wouldn’t have known what I would have done.”

Moving mountains!

During these dark days the project is a ray of hope for many.  It is also proof that faith and love can move a mountain, even when we don’t know how big the mountain is.