Tales from the Food Bank

Richard Baynes

It's in a musty, tatty church hall. The clients are desperate. The work can be tedious. So why do I look forward to helping at Glasgow North West Foodbank? Well, it's life-affirming, funny, warm, and the girls in the cafe make a cracking cheese toasty.

It works like this: food is collected at collection points and at the hall in Blawarthill near Knightswood. It's sorted, date-checked, stuck on shelves, and often collected immediately for food parcels. No-one gets a parcel without being referred by an approved agency. Clients have an informal interview with a volunteer who can point them to further help and leave with enough tins and packets for three days.

Gill is project manager, Kyle is admin co-ordinator. They carry the can. No other volunteers will be identified here to maintain privacy. Clients - well, they're the important people, but for obvious reasons none is identifiable in any way.

And everyone gets toasties.

Views given here are not those of the food-bank organisers. For more information visit http://glasgownw.foodbank.org.uk/

It's in a musty, tatty church hall. The clients are desperate. The work can be tedious. So why do I look forward to helping at Glasgow North West Foodbank? Well, it's life-affirming, funny, warm, and the girls in the cafe make a cracking cheese toasty.

It works like this: food is collected at collection points and at the hall in Blawarthill near Knightswood. It's sorted, date-checked, stuck on shelves, and often collected immediately for food parcels. No-one gets a parcel without being referred by an approved agency. Clients have an informal interview with a volunteer who can point them to further help and leave with enough tins and packets for three days.

Gill is project manager, Kyle is admin co-ordinator. They carry the can. No other volunteers will be identified here to maintain privacy. Clients - well, they're the important people, but for obvious reasons none is identifiable in any way.

And everyone gets toasties.

Views given here are not those of the food-bank organisers. For more information visit http://glasgownw.foodbank.org.uk/

Latest articles from Tales from the Food Bank