Finding myself without a job and at something of a loose end last year I started looking for local volunteering opportunities and, through a friend at Swinton Running Club, started at Salford Central Foodbank near Salford Quays.
When the chance to run the Manchester 10k on behalf of the foodbank and raise some much needed funds arose it was kind of a no-brainer!
Our foodbank is part of The Trussell Trust’s network of 428 foodbanks, working to tackle food poverty and hunger in our local communities, as well as across the UK.
The Foodbank Network was founded in 2004 after four years of developing the original foodbank based in Salisbury. Since then The Trussell Trust has helped communities work together to launch foodbanks nationwide in a wide range of towns and cities.
In 2015/16, The Trussell Trust’s Foodbank Network provided 1,109,309 three-day emergency food supplies and support to UK people in crisis. Of these, over 400,000 went to children.
As a network, we want to see more people helped out of crisis and fewer people needing foodbanks in the future. That’s why The Trussell Trust and local foodbanks are working together to develop new ways to help people out of crisis through programmes like More Than Food.
To find out more about The Trussell Trust visit www.trusselltrust.org.