Last Saturday saw the joint launch of two new food pantries in Leicester, one at All Saints’ Church and one at Wesley Hall Community Centre, which has a strong connection to the Moravian congregation worshipping next door. Archdeacon Richard and Moravian Bishop Joachim visited both food pantries, at All Saints Belgrave and Wesley Hall Methodist church, and prayed for the two projects as they opened their doors for the first time.
Pantries go beyond the food bank model, creating a sustainable and long-term solution to food poverty. Members pay a small weekly fee for which they can choose a certain number of food items each week, along with additional opportunities of volunteering and training. The All Saints pantry is a completely new initiative, whilst the pantry at Wesley Hall is enabling an existing foodbank to expand into a the more sustainable pantry model.
Both food pantries have been enabled by Together Leicester with assistance and funding from the Albert Gubay Foundation via the Church Urban Fund. Together Leicester was represented at the launch by Revd Canon Alison Adams who is one of the founding trustees.
Bishop Joachim said: ‘Transitioning from the food bank to the food pantry helps people have a choice of items, it increases the level of dignity, it helps people to stretch their budget in a time of almost unprecedented financial pressure.’
Alison Adams, speaking to BBC East Midlands News, commented on the expanding need for these initiatives due to the rising cost of living: 'There is a whole group of people out there now who probably can’t make ends meet, but who could previously have made ends meet, wondering where their next meal is coming from’.
Archdeacon Richard added: ‘It is wonderful to see two new ecumenical partnerships that are working with local communities of all faiths and none to address the increasing challenge of food poverty in a sustainable way. Together Leicester has done a great job in enabling these partnerships to become a powerful united Christian witness.’
For those interested in knowing more about emerging, creative ways of responding to food poverty, please contact Elaine Smith, the Together Leicester Development Worker, elaine.smith@togetherleicester.org.uk. Later in the year, Elaine and members of the diocesan Social Responsibility Panel will be offering a webinar to introduce some of these new initiatives so look out for that on Diomail.
