As the cost of living crisis continues, and Westminster wrangles, volunteers in Greater Manchester are bringing support, hope, and friendship to thousands of people. Volunteers like the team at Trinity Foodbank, which includes Jenny Platt. Jenny knows what it's like to hit the bottom, to pick yourself up and rebuild your life.
Through helping others, she's found a new purpose in a place without judgement. Somewhere where people can keep warm, get food and nappies, find a friendly face and a listening ear. A place of hope amid the economic gloom hanging over the country. Manchester Evening News reporter Paige Oldfield met the people who Trinity is helping - on both sides of the counter.
The doorbell rings at Trinity Foodbank again. It’s the third time in several minutes. A desperate mum needing baby supplies, a man seeking warmth so he can do his crossword. There are all walks of life reaching out for help in this quiet corner of Radcliffe – now more than ever before.
“I’m finding it really hard,” new mum Stella Odibe says. “It would be so difficult without this place. This morning we’ve had our breakfasts and now we’re going home with food items.”
Stella regularly visits the Westminster Avenue food bank with her 18-month-old daughter, Merit. She is currently unable to work full-time due to having an overactive thyroid. As living costs continue to rise, the mum-of-one says the service is a beacon of light.
“There’s food, nappies, wipes, clothes – it's a big relief,” she added. “Because of my daughter, I work twice a week. I come here once a month so I can get food items and nappies.”
But for others, the food bank is so much more than a source for basic necessities. It’s a place for companionship following years of unprecedented isolation.
“Coming here gets me out of the house,” Jaqueline Donoghue, 40, says as she sits with a cup of tea. “Since Covid, I’ve always kept myself locked in. When I come here, it makes me feel happy. I can talk to people
“This place comes in handy for when I start to run out of food or clothes. The cost of living is a worry for me, I think, ‘How am I going to cope?’
“I keep hearing these stories about things going on and I think, ‘What’s going on? Why is this happening?’”
Alan, 67, quietly reads his newspaper at a table. He visits the food bank on a weekly basis so he has somewhere warm to sit.
“I come down every Friday for a coffee,” he says. “I can come and do my crossword and speak to people.
“Everything is going up – I’m like everyone else. Everyone is in the same boat. I worry about the gas and electric; it’s doubled. I’ve had it on recently, I know I shouldn’t.”
A few years ago, the food bank handed out around 20 parcels a week on average. That figure has nearly quadrupled in recent times.
And volunteer Tina Harrison fears that number is set to rise even further as the cost of living crisis continues to cripple the nation. “We’re definitely seen an influx of people over the last few months,” the 64-year-old said.
“One man will come for a food parcel and will go and sit in the café and read his newspaper all morning just to stay warm. You don’t ask them why they’re here or if they’re struggling, but you can tell.
“We get families that are really struggling. We get referrals from schools. With lunchboxes, someone might notice a child hasn’t got a lot and they say, ‘Mummy hasn’t got a lot of food in’. The school with have a conversation with that family and refer them to us.”
Jenny Noon has been volunteering at Trinity Foodbank since 2020. She began helping out while recovering from a drug addiction – just months after she was arrested in Manchester city centre for begging.
“I was in loads of debt and Tina helped me get out,” she said. “I wouldn’t be where I am now. I’m still in debt now but I’m sorting it. When my mum died in 2016, I was using loads of drugs.
“I got into £7,000 worth of debt. It’s like you don’t want to open the door and you’re constantly looking out.”
The 44-year-old's situation became so dire, she had some of her children taken away from her by social services.
“My daughter was born in January 2020 and was adopted,” she continued. “It’s horrible. I walk past prams and I’m looking in to see if I would recognise her – but I have no idea if she’s in the area. I get a letter once a year, no pictures. Because of lockdown, I had to say goodbye on video call.”
But volunteering at the food bank has given Jenny a new purpose – saying it’s also helping to change the lives of those across Bury. “It was a food bank, but now it’s become more about advice and helping people,” she added.
“One man came in saying he was going to get evicted and he didn’t think anyone could help. We get mums come here and sit down and burst into tears. It’s just a relief someone is listening to them and not being judgemental.”
For more information on Trinity Foodbank, visit the link by clicking here .
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