Bolton Road Community Pantry

What’s Happening in the Pantry?

The Pantry is currently helping to support 43 local households and provides one-off emergency food packs when needed. Membership numbers have increased over the last few months and it is thanks to donations, support from Porch and two Council (Bury VCFA) anti-poverty grants that we are able to keep the Pantry sufficiently well-stocked to take on new members. Events such as Baubles and Bells and Bonnets and Bunnies have also been important in raising much needed funds for the Pantry.

The weekly charge for a shop remains at £3 and we are open every Thursday morning from 9am to 12.30, although several members prefer to shop on a Wednesday morning when we are setting up for the following day. This is helpful as Thursday mornings, especially the first hour and a half, can become extremely busy! Our members are also able to access help and advice on matters such as debt management, housing and health from representatives of various organisations who visit the Pantry on a regular basis. We now have a Social Prescriber available every Thursday morning.

We know that the Pantry is very much needed and appreciated by our members from the results of a recent member feedback survey. Comments such as “Keep doing what you are doing - you have helped us enormously” and “You do so much good for so many” are just two of many similar comments.

Four of our families now have newborn babies – two boys and two girls, all doing well! Each family received a “Welcome Baby Pack” on the birth of their baby. Support for these families is on-going, including the provision of baby milk if needed.

All of our families received a Christmas hamper containing toiletries, chocolate items and extra food items in addition to their weekly shopping allowance.

We now provide children’s lunch packs during the school holidays and these have been very much appreciated. In our recent feedback survey, one member commented, “Brilliant! So helpful. Many thanks” and another wrote, “What a wonderful idea. Very helpful.”

Plans for the future include a campaign to encourage healthy eating (with possible cookery demonstrations), setting up raised beds for growing more fruit and vegetables in the former pre-school playground area (which we hope will involve some of our members) and introducing some well-being therapy sessions.

Finally, a huge thank you to the church family for all your prayers, encouragement, donations and attendance at our fund-raising events, all of which are so vital to the continuing work of the Pantry.

Porch Boxes – Bury Food Bank provides crisis packs of food and toiletries to local agencies to distribute to local people in urgent need. Read more about their work and how to donate at: Porch Boxes website