“Everyone has a story to tell.”

14 July 2016

Noran Flynn manages Nechells POD, a small charity at the heart of one of the most disadvantaged wards in Birmingham. Here she shares how food from FareShare is supporting more than 300 local residents, whether in food parcels for families struggling to afford to eat or in community lunches for people facing social isolation. 

“It’s not an easy thing to ask for help with feeding your family”

“Over the last 12 months, we’ve provided thousands of food parcels, using store cupboard goods that are donated during the Neighbourhood Food Collection, as well as the fresh surplus produce. Everyone has a story to tell. It’s not an easy thing to ask for help with feeding your family, but our volunteer who gives out the food parcels makes everyone feel at ease. We find out what issues people are facing, then we can refer them to the financial advice surgery, or get them involved with other activities that we run.”

“We wanted to offer a way to meet socially in a safe environment.”

“We offer regular community lunches, with a buffet of sandwiches, salads and lovely cakes. They encourage people to come and meet each other, to have a chat. For our ‘Come Dine With Me’ evenings, we really go to town, we make the place look like a restaurant and serve a three-course meal. The quality is amazing – fresh chicken, fresh salmon. People in the local area tend not to socialise in their homes, so we wanted to offer a way to meet socially in a safe environment, where people can have a good night out without alcohol as the main focus.”

“Food is just the start, it helps us to build a relationship.”

“We don’t have a food budget, so without Fareshare, it would be virtually impossible to continue with the meals and social events, and that would have a very negative impact on the community. Food is just the start, it helps us to build a relationship.

“One lady, a refugee from Iran, was living in temporary accommodation with her two girls, not getting any support, when she came to us. We could make sure they were eating well. When she was rehoused, we helped her with carpets, curtains and a freezer. She’s doing well, she’s taking her English GCSE this week and no longer needs the food that we receive through FareShare, but it really made a difference to her life.”