We found that one of the most deprived areas was Handsworth in Birmingham, which is an area many of our volunteers grew up – and still live in.
We’ve teamed up with the Church of God, Seventh Day in Handsworth, an organisation that was already running a weekly food bank in the area. They’ve been doing an excellent job with limited resources.
However, we noticed that the queues of people lining up each week was far more than what they could supply. We approached local warehouses, who were able to provide us food items at a discounted rate.
It is still on a first come first service basis, however together we have doubled the number of food packages that are being handing out each week.
The response to this has been incredible. We’ve seen people literally cry out of happiness to have received items that you and I would take for granted. It’s a humbling experience and we’ve realised that it doesn’t take much to make a difference.
We recognise that our work is not done. There are still people in need – from all walks of life. The fact that they are struggling is not always apparent on first glance. We also recognise that charity should be continuous not seasonal, as the most vulnerable of our society need support year round.
