Manchester

The Bread and Butter Thing (TBBT) is a unique infrastructure which brings people in low-income areas together, developing individual and community resilience. We tackle premiums that such families face everywhere and the in-built social inequalities that come with them. Our model is a combination of direct delivery and regional/national policy work, learning from communities and using that learning to improve the policy environment. We address systemic failures affecting these communities: 1) reduction in community cohesion as society provides fewer reasons to come together 2) reduction in the availability of healthy food as the commercial sector withdraws 3) retreat to remote support increasing digital exclusion. The BMJ and CPAG amongst others have shown that Covid disproportionately affected our communities. There is a policy focus on extreme hunger and poverty accounting for 4% of the UK. Yet there are 21% who are ‘just about managing’ and struggling to access a healthy diet. TBBT’s model uniquely addresses this population at scale. We are an early adopter of the Food Ladder Strategy and use our experience as a trailblazer in this area to inform and complement national-level campaigns, whilst giving people a leg up onto the next rung. From its set-up in 2016, TBBT has grown to serving 158 communities and over 10,000 families every week, with 1000 locally-based volunteers and over 120,000 members.

Greater Together Manchester is a charity that looks to tackle poverty and deprivation across Greater Manchester and Rossendale. We work with communities all over Greater Manchester to tackle poverty and deprivation, and to find ways to support the most vulnerable people in our society. We work with local, grassroots groups to develop their responses to concerns or problems in their community, providing advice, support, infrastructure and support with fundraising. Purpose of Greater Together Manchester: To kick-start, grow and support local social action/community outreach projects and initiatives by equipping local groups, individuals and communities with the skills and confidence to make a real difference to the lives of the most vulnerable people in their local area. To connect projects, people and organisations together to allow them to share best practice, resources and ideas To work together with multi-agency partners to influence local, regional and national policy and strategy. To provide training and information to individuals and organisations to help equip front-line workers with the skills and knowledge they need to support and sign post vulnerable people more effectively.

We are a primary school in Harpurhey, one of the most deprived areas of the UK, with nearly 500 primary school pupils on roll aged between 3 and 11. Based in the heart of North Manchester and being so close to the city center, we are limited with our outdoor green space. We are always looking at ways to improve both our inside space and outside playground areas, and bringing in as much nature to our primary school as we can - whether it be to improve the look of our school aesthetically, or to bring learning opportunities to our children and the wider community. We are always on the lookout for donations of indoor and outdoor plants, plant pots/troughs, flowers, gardening tools, and paints for both indoor and outdoor use. Donations of compost, litterpickers and anything that can improve our school environment in any way possible is greatly appreciated. We would also love to have volunteers in that can help us to build planters, or that can give their time up to paint outside planters, our reading gazebo and school fences. If you have a special creative skill and could make a difference to our school - we would love to hear from you!