Lidl Birmingham - Stirchley

Steps 8 CIC is a registered Community Interest Company committed to reducing food insecurity, strengthening community wellbeing, and ensuring that every individual has access to meaningful physical, creative, and social opportunities. We identify service users through school and community referrals, self referrals, and direct engagement with families experiencing financial hardship, food insecurity, or social isolation. Needs are assessed through conversations, signposting requests, and ongoing monitoring of household circumstances to ensure support is responsive and appropriate. Our organisation provides a wide range of free services, including food support, holiday activities for children and young people, wellbeing programmes, community engagement sessions, and outreach for vulnerable or isolated residents. All core services are delivered free of charge, ensuring that cost is never a barrier to participation or support. As part of our surplus food programme, we maintain full compliance with food safety requirements, including a current Level 2 Food Hygiene Certificate and an up to date FSA rating. Surplus food donations are distributed directly to families, young people, and vulnerable residents facing food insecurity. This reduces household food costs, improves access to nutritious meals, prevents food waste, and strengthens our ability to provide consistent, reliable support across the community. Steps 8 CIC is governed by a skilled and dedicated board of eight trustees and supported by a committed, ambitious team. We take our responsibilities seriously and ensure that governance, safeguarding, and operational standards remain of the highest quality. At the heart of our mission is a commitment to supporting those most affected by poverty, advocating for long term solutions, and working towards a future where food banks are no longer needed in the UK. Our vision is for every person to access a custom designed physical and learning pathway that supports them and their family throughout their lives. Through collaboration, innovation, inclusion, and integrity, we aim to elevate communities, reduce food poverty, and create sustainable change.

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 are a group of folks who come together to support our fellow Brummies through crisis... and the crisis is far from over. Since March 2020 we have supported thousands of individuals and families across the city with: food parcels Christmas presents birthday cakes Easter eggs and even phones and laptops donated by the community. We have supported homeless and youth projects, those with no recourse to public funds or housebound, in tempory accommodation, refugees and migrants... ...all this with no questions asked because no one should have to sing for their supper! We are continuing our work in Kings Heath and beyond in solidarity with communities and neighbours. We are an open group, so if you have ideas, good energy, or just time to spare... JOIN US!!!