A day in the life of a food bank

Our reporter Daisy Dewsnap finds out more about the vital work of Street Treats...

It’s a brisk Tuesday morning in Hyde and an efficient system is in place as Street Treats volunteers fill 21 boxes with an assortment of goods.

Parcels filled to the brim sit awaiting collection from those who need them most.

With the cost of living spiralling and those already struggling being pushed into increasingly desperate situations, organisations like Street Treats are becoming society’s safety net.

The boxes handed out by the volunteers are completely free of charge and can be accessed via self-referral, or via referrals from support workers.

The group relies heavily on the goodwill of those providing donations - including supermarkets such as Morrisons, Tesco and Asda, as well as some independent stores too.

Daryl Pollitt, one of the co-founders, showed me around during my visit, explaining how it all started when her teenage son wanted to feed the homeless. But that idea very quickly ‘snowballed’ into what it is today.

She said: “My son had seen a picture on Facebook of someone giving food to the homeless in London and asked me if we could do the same here; so we made sandwiches up and got in the car one night with my son-in-law and his friend too, and we went into Manchester.

“We went round the camp sites - giving out bottles of water, sandwiches and crisps.

“More and more people became interested in what we were doing, and it turned into friends and friends of friends getting involved too.

“Once the handout to the homeless began to do well, we set up our street kitchen on Piccadilly and began serving around 150 to 200 meals each Thursday evening.

“Nowadays, the demographics have changed, we don’t just provide food to the homeless anymore - we also help those who are in temporary accommodation and either don’t have the facilities to cook their own food or don’t have the money for it.

“We also assist asylum seekers who require clothing more than food. We collect donations of men’s clothing for them.”

She added: “For the food bank, some people will come to collect a food parcel for a six week period, just to help them over a hurdle if they’ve had a financial difficulty of some sort, while others will need to carry it on.

“We have one lady who was recently sanctioned at work meaning she had no money coming in at all, so it really does help her a lot.”

When I volunteered at Street Treats food bank for a shift, one of the women who came to collect a food parcel shared her experience with the team.

She said: “It’s been a huge help, not just for me but they’ve helped my dog as well. Without them, I wouldn’t have eaten for about a fortnight - that’s for definite.

“There’s a big variety in each box - cold, warm, anything! They’re very friendly the lot of them and I’ve never had one person here look down on me, I’ve never been made to feel like I shouldn’t be here. You couldn’t ask for anything better really.”

Numerous people visited to collect parcels during my time there - one woman even had a suitcase in tow to put her things in.

Some chatted with the volunteers as they bagged up their food, while others arrived with a keen mindset to get what they needed and leave.

Each person expressed how much Street Treats has helped them and what a big impact the organisation has had on their lives.

One volunteer shared an encounter he had with a young man facing hardship which has ‘stuck with’ him.

He said he came across a man foraging through a bin for scraps of food and how much the memory of this had stayed in his mind.

The volunteer beamed with pride as he explained how far the young man had come, now receiving a free Street Treats food box each Tuesday.

To find out more about Street Treats, including how you can volunteer, donate or ask for help, visit their Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ groups/1722241501386776/