Churches are increasingly involved in running and supporting food clubs – often known as pantries – helping families to cut their food bills amid the long-term economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic.
The Church of the Resurrection on Upton Priory estate, Macclesfield, opened a food club in September. It's one of several churches who are opening food clubs to help people to feed themselves and their families. The club was set up after the church worked with local supermarkets and FareShare, with help from volunteers, to deliver hundreds of food parcels to local families during the first lockdown.
The club has received funding from Cheshire East Council and is supported by FareShare.
Members pay £3.50 for up to 15 items – they are able to take as much fresh fruit and vegetables as they would like. So many households have signed up – 120 families so far and this is growing – that the club introduced time slots for shopping to avoid queues and help keep to physical distancing rules.
Andrea Fitton, the Church of England Youth and Community Minister employed to work on the Upton Priory estate by neighbouring St Peter’s Church, said: “The Core Pantry provides people with a choice and they can shop like they are in a supermarket, with a basket.
“They can walk around – we make it as Covid secure as we can. There is dignity in having choice."
The Church of the Resurrection and another church, St George’s Church Everton, just outside of our diocese were recently featured in a story about food clubs on the Church of England website.
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