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Doing food together: An invitation to all churches

Churches urged to open more Pantries

Bishop says community food approach “goes to the heart of the Christian faith"

Churches across the UK are being urged to consider opening food Pantries, as a way to strengthen their neighbourhoods and build local hope.

The Your Local Pantry network has 121 Pantries across the UK, but knows churches are ideally placed to host more and is inviting church leaders to commit to opening a Pantry in 2025.

Last week, the Rt Revd Nick Baines, Bishop of Leeds, visited InterAct Pantry in Meanwood, north Leeds, and talked with members and volunteers about the impact it has locally. The Pantry is run by a charity made up of Anglican, URC, Baptist and Methodist Churches.

Bishop encourages churches to get involved

Bishop Nick said: “What’s really impressive is that we recognise that food isn’t just for eating – we commune around food. So whether people are collecting food or eating food together, it’s a social event. It goes to the heart of the Christian faith as well, this is what we do all the time.

“I would encourage churches to consider how they might be engaged and involved in this. We need to remember, Jesus said we will be judged by whether we visit the sick, feed the hungry, give drink to those who are thirsty and so on. You can!”

Your Local Pantry’s recent Places Of Hope report found that Pantries had saved members £10.5 million in the past two years, and showed that they were bringing a wide range of community benefits, such as improved health, reduced isolation, and enhanced access to other opportunities and services.

Church Pantries reach almost 60,000 people

Church Action on Poverty, which coordinates the network, is now able to provide a breakdown of the figures for church-based Pantries.

Of the 121 Pantries in the network, 73 (60%) are hosted by or supported by churches or Christian charities. The first Pantry in a church opened five years ago this November, in Birmingham, and since then church-backed Pantries have been visited 362,300 times, supporting 59,800 people in 22,700 households. (If all Pantries are counted, church and non-church, those figures rise to 691,700 visits, supporting 121,800 people in 44,100 households).

Pantries are a perfect fit for pantries

James Henderson, network development coordinator for Church Action on Poverty, says: “Pantries are all about dignity, choice and hope. They are a perfect fit for churches who want to cement their role in their community, and who want to help make change happen.

“Many churches have spaces that lend themself to Pantries, but also an abundance of compassion and potential volunteers. If any church is wondering how to use food as a gateway to hope, we’d love to hear from you.”

Pantries bring vast community benefits

The entire Your Local Pantry network has saved members £5.76m in the past year, and £10.5m in the past two years – but the benefits go far deeper. Research has shown that 83% of Your Local Pantry members say it has been good for their mental health; 74% feel more connected to their local community; 66% have made new friends; and 63% now eat more fresh fruit and vegetables. Pantries also have an average of 15-20 volunteers each,

Pantries are also increasingly about ongoing social transformation, with many members this year becoming involved in local democracy, social campaigns, and art projects.

Anyone interested in opening a Your Local Pantry should email info@yourlocalpantry.co.uk

One church’s story

North End Baptist Church in Portsmouth ran a food bank which had supported around 10,000 people in the five years up to 2020, and when the pandemic struck the level of local need soared. Covid changed the way the team worked, but it also prompted some reflection. Was this the right approach, or was there a better way?

Jo Green, one of the Pantry managers, says: “We spoke to schools and other organisations. They were telling us they had families who needed help but who would not go to a food bank because of the stigma. It made us wonder what we could do.

“Our minister, Tracey, knew someone who ran a Pantry and we looked at a couple, and decided that becoming a Pantry was the way forward. We closed our food bank at the start of April 2021, and three weeks later we opened as a Pantry. The stigma has certainly reduced. We have a lot of families now and we are finding that people really value it more because they are paying towards it.

“We want to reach people in the area and build relationships. With a Pantry, people come back every week and start opening up and you hear how much it means to people. We are a church so we can direct people in the church to the Pantry, and also let Pantry members know about other things like the toddler groups.”

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PM responds to the Let’s End Poverty letters

People with first-hand experience of poverty wrote to the Prime Minister urging him to change the Government’s approach… and received an immediate response.

The Dear Prime Minister project was part of the Let’s End Poverty campaign, and involved 15 people writing to Sir Keir Starmer about their own experiences, insights and hopes.

Getting a grassroots message to the heart of Government is no easy feat, so initiatives like this often require patience. But remarkably, these letters generated an almost instant response… that evening, they were the lead story on BBC London TV news, and then the very next day they were discussed at Prime Minister’s Question Time, in a packed House of Commons.

Watch below, as Sir Keir Starmer tells MPs: “The letters are honest, powerful and important and I think they hold up a mirror to our country.”

Dear Prime Minister letters

Sir Keir Starmer was responding to a question from Cat Smith MP, who had hosted a Parliamentary event for the Dear Prime Minister letter writers and supporters.

Several contributors read out their own letters, and there was a discussion about what it would mean to truly involve people with direct experience of poverty, when policies and systems are written and designed.

Together we can build a poverty-free nation

The foreword to the publication says:

“The new Government is aiming for a decade of national renewal. The people who need that the most – the authors of these letters and the millions who share similar experiences – must be invited to be partners in that change.

“We invite the Prime Minister to meet with the authors of these letters, to hear in person the wisdom and insights they bring, and to find ways to bring the expertise and insights derived from lived experience into the heart of policy making. Together, we can build a poverty-free nation, and we are eager to play our part”.

Some contributors, such as Karen & Andy in Morecambe Bay, wrote about the positive impact that localised projects like Poverty Truth Commissions have had, and called for similar approaches nationally.

They said: “We have worked on many initiatives together and are seeing real change. It’s an approach that could make politics more effective, locally and nationally.”

Others talked of the importance of meaningful support, and others outlined the need for hope for a brighter future.

One contributor, Steve from west London, talked about attending his local food bank, and then becoming a volunteer. He said he had seen why we desperately need to end poverty, and what could be done differently, and added: “By ending poverty, people will be freed to make a difference in their life and in their community.”

“Listening to people who know what it’s like to live in poverty is not just the right thing to do, it’s the best way to create solutions that really work for the long term.”

Hannah Fremont-Brown

Let's End Poverty coordinator

One of the letters: Dear Prime Minister, from Carrie

Dear Prime Minister,

I am writing to you as a mum of two children, who is working hard to support them in the best way possible. I want to share with you how I believe that truly listening to people with experience of poverty can make a real difference.

Things aren’t easy. I am a lone parent without family support due to bereavements. I struggle every day due to my ill health, and the side effects from my cancer treatment.

Both of my children have special educational needs. I feel that many people don’t want to truly understand our struggles. Some of the schools they have been part of are not understanding of our situation. They don’t follow plans made with early help, or really listen to what we need to support us as a family. I do not receive disability living allowance benefits for my girls as I struggle to fill in the forms.

I feel let down by the whole system at the moment. I am stuck between a rock and a hard place, having to make difficult decisions about how to care for my children and get the income we need. The stress of always having to make tough decisions has a really big impact on us. People in positions of power need to learn to really listen to people’s circumstances and offer support, not restrictions.

Over the last few years, I have been part of the first Poverty Truth Commission in Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole and it’s changed my life. I think every council should run one. Lived experience voices should be heard in government. A Poverty Truth style programme at a Government level would bring MPs and people of lived experience of poverty into the same circle. MPs should attend Poverty Truth Commission launches and celebrations in their area and take part!

So, Prime Minister, I am writing to ask you to take the first step to really listen to those of us with experience of poverty, and to work with us for change.

From
Carrie, Poole

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