Getir Solihull

Birmingham Central Mosque’s food bank has been operational since 2016. We are pleased to inform that we now have a dedicated team of volunteers led by a senior project lead who manages the food bank on a full-time basis and ensures that the food bank is open at least twice a week on Tuesday afternoons and Saturday mornings. The aim of the food bank is to ensure that the food bank itself meets the needs of the local community and those further afield who require assistance in the form of food parcels. Birmingham Central Mosque are fully aware that the cost of living has soared over the past few years, and there are many within our immediate vicinity who require help in the form of food parcels donations. Currently we have over 450 families/individuals who have signed up to the food bank, who themselves are representative of the city of Birmingham. As an Islamic institution, its imperative that we ensure the service meets the needs of all regardless of background, faith or ethnicity etc. Since November 2021, we have had a continued and steady increase in demand for the use of the food bank, which in itself has now allowed us to create a dedicated team of core volunteers. Such is the current demand we are now exploring the possibility of forging long term partnerships with organisations who can help ensure that the food bank continues in its current trajectory by meeting the growing demands of the community and by also ensuring that as a collective we endeavour to ensure that we make efforts to minimise food waste.

We help individuals and families in a deprived area of South East Birmingham through provision of food, empowerment and providing a safe place to meet and socialize. We assist people through issues such as debt and housing matters and aspects relating to deprivation. We help people to tackle issues of loneliness and isolation, lack of opportunity, poor diet and health problems. Our food bank provides food for people in crisis and links them to appropriate local services. Our Lighthouse group is an informal 'drop-in', providing hospitality, a place to chat, make friends, play games, create handicrafts and enjoy a free lunch. Our Yardley Wood Pantry is a new community food initiative (launching in October 2019) to benefit low-income households in the surrounding area. In exchange for a weekly £3.50 membership fee, a member can choose ten food items from the Pantry shop (based at Yardley Wood Baptist Church) – including a variety of groceries, fresh fruit and vegetables, frozen and refrigerated foods, as well as tinned and packet foods – that would have a retail value of around £20. The Pantry is a project that is so much more than being about food. In consultation with Pantry members and other organisations in the local community, we aim to further benefit members and the wider community by creating supporting projects around the Pantry such as: Money and Debt advice, Job Club, Community Café, Parent/toddler groups and clubs providing food and activities for children during school holidays. We aim to bring community together and encourage the talents, gifts and strengths of people in the community. Our aim is to continually listen to our local community and involve people in the community as much as possible in the running of the projects and how they function. Much of what we do revolves around food. People can help by donating money, food (tins, packets, fruit and veg) and household items to support our projects.

Through providing emergency food to local people in crisis, we aim to provide a breathing space to help them deal with our clients' underlying issues. We provide food but equally important to us is the provision of support and care for our clients' situations. This may range from making appointments for our Money Advice Worker with help for debt and money management, job search and benefits queries; to referrals to our Domestic Abuse Support Worker, our Carer Support Project and Resource Centre for Asylum Seekers and refugees. Every item of food has been donated by the local community and we are supported by a small army of volunteers. We also provide bread, pastries and some fresh fruit and vegetables when available in addition to toiletries, household products and pet food.