Rochdale Communities Fund 2023 supporting Lighthouse Pantry and Middleton Central Foodbank.
We are really grateful for the support we’ve received this year from the Rochdale Communities Fund 2023, it will make a positive impact on how we can continue supporting families struggling with food poverty and crisis. Thank you.
Action Together who administer the Fund say “Its a difficult task trying to sum up all of the amazing work delivered by the Lighthouse Project, but the funding they received from the Food Solutions Grants is allowing them to continue the provision of much needed support to alleviate food poverty for many families in their community.
Development Manager, Carl Roach, told Action Together what the Food Solutions Grant has meant to the Lighthouse Project;
“The cost-of-living crisis has impacted us through reductions in donations and increases in demand for help. This year’s grant will make such a difference for us, especially during the winter time when we see demand for food support rise in both the Foodbank, and Pantry.
With the grant we will be buying essential family food items, and staples such as eggs, bread, and fruit, to top up our food parcels/baskets.
Our food projects support people at different stages, whether this is helping them at a time of crisis, or making sure that they can keep their heads above water in the face of the ongoing cost-of-living pressures.”
The Lighthouse Project offers food support to the community through the Lighthouse Pantry, a membership based food club, and Middleton Central Foodbank which is part of the national Trussell Trust Foodbank network supporting people experiencing food crisis and needing emergency support. Both of these projects support families and individuals but in different ways.
Access to the Foodbank is via a referral process, which ensures residents can access other avenues of support eg, money advice through one of their referral partners, alongside any food support given.
The Lighthouse Pantry was established in 2018, and is a membership based food club, to help local families and individuals reduce their weekly food costs, keeping more money in their household to cover other bills or needs. During the first 6 months of 2023 the Pantry’s membership grew by over 30% as the cost-of-living-crisis continued to tighten its grip on local families, and the success of the project has meant there is now a waiting list for new applications.
