Surrounded by tins of carrots, packets of instant noodles and bags of rice, the volunteers at Perry’s Pantry Foodbank in Didsbury wear coats and keep the door open while they pack food parcels. Anyone is welcome to come inside for a coffee and a chat.
The south Manchester foodbank recently shared a desperate plea on Facebook asking for donations, both cash and food, as they had received more referrals due to the cost of living crisis. This week alone, Perry’s Pantry has had eight new referrals, meaning they now cater to around 50 families a week.
However, Tricia Reilly-Hurst, a trustee of Perry’s Pantry Foodbank believes it is only going to get worse, and expects even more referrals as the reality of the cost of the living increases become apparent in April. “It’s only going to get worse from April, it costs us between £500 and £700 a week now to shop because everything has increased in price and you know, it’s not just 10 pence. There’s been a massive increase.”
Talking about the realities of foodbank use, Tricia is concerned that she may have to resort to getting a helping hand from one herself as prices continue to rise. “Soon I might have to use a foodbank," she said. "My husband’s hours are being hindered, going down, obviously that reflects in his pay and obviously everything else is going up, and I am looking for more work but I’m getting older, people haven’t got the same vigour they have at 20.
“We’re going to be feeding out meters, electric and gas, especially when we come into next November when it goes up again, I think that’s when people will have just had enough. We’re going to see more people just going out, sitting with a coffee lasting three hours so they don’t have to put the fire on. We’re going to see all that.
“My mum, she’s 79, she goes out obviously for her mental health but she goes out to keep warm but so she’s not putting the gas and electric. I think quite a lot of youngsters don't know how hard it is going to get until it gets hard.
“Everything is going up and people are losing their jobs. Everyone was working from home and now they’ll want to go into the office because it’s warm.”
After being referred to Perry’s Pantry, people receive two food parcels. The size of what you receive is based upon the number of people in your home.
After that, it costs £3 for a single person or £5 for a family. The foodbank also caters for pets, so if the family has a cat or a dog, their food will be included too. Tricia explained that Perry’s Pantry is an independent charity and receives no funding, so is supported entirely by donations and the kindness of the people of south Manchester.
She said: “All our food is donated by the generosity of Didsbury, we help people in Burnage, we help a blind guy in Gorton, we help somebody in Reddish so we’re not just stuck to Didsbury, it depends where the referrals are coming from.
“I think we’ve even been as far as Swinton and that was on Christmas Eve. We stand alone, so we get no help from the Trussell Trust or any other big organisation, we do just truly depend on people’s generosity and the community and schools. Schools have been great, you know St. Catherine’s and Beaver Road, they’ve really helped us.
“Khandoker (restaurant) are really great also, they always help us on the raffles with a family meal to raffle off. We’ve got some money boxes in the van, I’m hoping to put them in businesses.
“If not for our unsung heroes, our lovely volunteers, we wouldn’t be here, we wouldn’t be running and I can’t even express that enough.”
Currently, Perry’s Pantry Foodbank is short on pasta sauces, and stewing meats.
Gemma Martin, a volunteer at the foodbank explained how these food products are very useful to the foodbank. She said: “It’s cans and ready made sauces, and meat that comes in a tin. It’s things that are really convenient.
“A lot of it, some adults live on their own so they don’t have the energy to be able to use ingredients to make things like a family would. They just want things that they can put in a pan, heat it up and it’s going to keep them warm because they haven’t got the heating to put on in the house. We have recipe cards that we try to give out and they incorporate all of the ingredients that we give out in the bags.”
The foodbank has a basket of sweets on the front counter, Gemma explains that the sweets help children to feel more welcome and can open up a dialogue about what Perry’s Pantry does.
“It is nice that as well, because it does entice the children to come in and then obviously they get the education of what we’re all about," Gemma added.
“We’re trying to get into the local schools to do a talk, to widen their knowledge, it’s all about supporting the community and reaching out to children who actually only live down the road. I remember my first ever delivery, I came back and I was in tears. I was so upset - this is going on around the corner and I never knew, and that’s the first time I ever took food.
“Just seeing this little girl in her garden with nothing - and I just felt so guilty and I never really knew it was happening. So for my girls, I bring them in here all the time after school and tell them this is what it’s about and we’re reaching out supporting others and helping. Then you also feel like a sense of achievement. It just makes you feel better.”
The foodbank is hoping to soon offer volunteer opportunities for young people completing their Duke of Edinburgh Awards.
Currently, Perry’s Pantry foodbank is located at 77a School Lane, Didsbury. However, they are starting to look for new premises where they can rent out space to make money for the charity.
If you run a business or wish to volunteer with Perry’s Pantry Foodbank, you can contact them on Facebook by clicking here.
Read more on the cost of living: Priced out, losing hope, patronised by Kirstie: Manchester's millennials on life in a cost of living crisis
Read more on the cost of living: Cheapest one-bed flats to rent in Manchester as city is named one of UK’s most expensive for solo tenants
