Sainsbury's Biddulph

Our vision is to grow an abundant Fegg Hayes and surrounding area, growing a community of participants, not recipients. The majority of this work takes place at the Hub@ST6, a community facility opened in 2016, which we run. Many of the activities happening in the Hub are run by us, either alone or in partnership with other organisations and some by other organisations and community groups. The activities we run include parent and toddlers, bingo and lunch clubs, craft sessions, youth activities and holiday activities for children and families. We also host a range of other activities including dance classes, Mums support group and martial arts group. The Hub is used for celebrations like birthday parties and baby showers and we even have the local PCSOs using the building as a base when they are in the community. In an average week we have around 400 people using the Hub. During the pandemic we stepped up to lead the local community support team, where many people from across the area came together to support their community in various ways, including with shopping, dog walking, prescription collection and food parcels.

we provide extra fresh foods alongside the tins & packets that are provided by the main Foodbank warehouse. We think it is important to try to add more nutritional balance to the food parcels that our guests receive. We have 2 Foodbanks in our area under the umbrella of Biddulph Churches Together Foodbank. One is at English Martyrs Church & the other at St.Johns church. Our visitors are referred to us by agencies who support families in the community eg.CAB, social services etc.Our service is free of charge. The surplus food helps us to provide fresh food items alongside the tins & packed goods that the Foodbank warehouse provides. The grants that we receive help to top up fresh food items with butter, cheese, eggs & other fresh fruits & veg ,we need to make sure we have enough to give to every one attending. We also provide small electrical energy saving appliances and electric blankets, hot water bottles, hats , scarves & gloves etc in the cold weather. Alongside the food items we also give out toiletries and cleaning products & pet foods.

The Foodbank has been in operation for the past decade in our local area based at the New Life Church centre. People helped are referred from a great network of teams we have built relationships with over the years e.g. housing associations, social services, mental health teams, job centre, NHS teams, schools, drugs team and so on. The foodbank is supported by volunteer help during the week at certain times. It is always a great challenge securing sufficient food to meet the demands which often change in reaction to changes to Welfare changes, employment related (low pay, zero contracts or contracted work), or social issues like domestic violence, relationship issues, health issues and so on. The foodbank integrates with the many other services we freely offer to address social problems, parenting, employment, mental health issues and so on. *During the current 2020 COVID-19 outbreak we are continuing to support our community as necessary - with the option of deliveries to those who are isolated at home* **For those interested in volunteering - thank you - we have had to restrict numbers of people on the premises during the lock-downs, and hope to involve more volunteers as lock-down eases**