Churches urged to open more pantries
Bishop says community meal approach “goes to the heart of the Christian faith”
Churches across the UK are being urged to consider opening soup kitchens to strengthen their neighborhoods and build local hope.
The Your Local Pantry the network has 121 Pantries across the UK but knows churches are ideally placed to host more and is inviting church leaders to commit to opening a Pantry by 2025.
Last week, the Bishop of Leeds, the Rt Revd Nick Baines, visited the InterAct Pantry in Meanwood, north Leeds, and spoke to members and volunteers about the local impact. The pantry does It is run by a charity made up of the Anglican, URC, Baptist and Methodist Churches.
The bishop encourages the churches to join the work
Bishop Nick said: “What’s really effective is that we understand that food is not just for eating, we communicate with food. So people gather food or eat together, it’s a social event. It also goes to the heart of the Christian faith, which is what we have always done.
“I would encourage churches to think about how they can engage and be involved. We must remember that Jesus said that we should visit the sick, feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, etc. You can!”
Your Local Pantry is new Places of Hope report It found that Pantries have saved members £10.5 million in the last two years and shown that they bring a wide range of community benefits, such as improved health, reduced isolation and increased access to other facilities and services.
Church pantries reach almost 60,000 people
Church Action on Poverty, which coordinates the network, is now able to provide a breakdown of figures for church-based Pantries.
Of the 121 Pantries in the network, 73 (60%) are hosted or supported by churches or Christian charities. The first Pantry in the church opened five years ago this November in Birmingham and ever since then the Pantries supported by the church have been visited. 362,300 timessupporting 59,800 people in 22,700 households. (If all Pantries, church and non-church are included, these numbers rise to 691,700 visits supporting 121,800 people in 44,100 families).
Pantries are perfect for pantries
James Henderson, network development coordinator for Church Action Against Poverty says: “Coolers are about dignity, choice and hope. They are a perfect fit for churches that want to strengthen their role in their communities and help bring about change.
“Many churches have places that lend to Pantries, but there is also a lot of compassion and potential volunteers. If any church is interested in how to use food as a gateway to hope, we would love to hear from you.”
Pantries bring a wide range of community benefits
The entire Your Local Pantry network has saved members £5.76m in the past year and £10.5m in the past two years – but the benefits go deeper. Studies have shown that 83% Your local Pantry members say it’s good for their mental health; 74% feel more connected to the local community; 66% made new friends; and 63% Eat more fresh fruits and vegetables now. Pantries also have an average of 15-20 volunteers each.
Pantries is also about ongoing social transformation, with many members participating in local democracy, social campaigns and art projects this year.
Anyone interested in opening Your Local Pantry should email info@yourlocalpantry.co.uk
The story of a church
North End Baptist Church in Portsmouth ran a food bank that supported nearly 10,000 people in the five years to 2020, and grew when the pandemic hit local levels of need. Covid has changed the way the team works, but it has also prompted some reflection. Was this the right approach or was there a better way?
Jo Green, one of the Pantry’s managers, says: “We talked to schools and other organizations. They told us that they have families who need help but don’t go to the food bank because of the stigma. It made us wonder what we could do.
“Our minister, Tracey, knew someone who ran a Pantry and we looked at a couple and decided that becoming a Pantry was the way forward. We closed our food bank at the beginning of April 2021 and opened three weeks later as a Pantry. The stigma has certainly gone down now. we have a lot of families and we find that people value it more because they pay for it.
“We want to reach people in the region and build relationships. With the pantry, people come back every week and start opening up and you hear how big it is for people. We are a church, so we can refer people in the church to the Pantry and also let Pantry members know about other things like children’s groups.
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