Young people support their local food club
The group of 7 young people are all members of Groundwork’s Princes Trust Team programme; a 12-week personal development programme which supports young people aged 16-25 who are not in education, employment, or training to achieve a nationally recognised qualification – ‘Prince’s Trust Award in Employment, Teamwork and Community Skills’.
The Pantry is a food club operated by Rochdale Boroughwide Housing, which operates from several locations across Rochdale. The food club provides food packages to people in the local community who are struggling with the cost of living. Members of The Pantry access a weekly shop with an average value of £12 for just £3.
As part of the Groundwork Princes Trust Team programme, the group of young people discuss and agree on a local cause they want to support. Logan, one of the participants explained,
“I have used The Pantry on occasion when I’ve struggled to put food on the table, when I had no idea where my next meal was coming from. They’ve helped me, so I really wanted to be able to give something back. When I told the rest of the Prince’s Trust team about what they do, they all wanted to help as well.”
Over the past two weeks, the group of young people have organised an appeal for food donations to help support The Pantry. They have asked family and friends, written letters to local businesses, created social media appeals and sent out emails. They’ve even brought in donations from their own food cupboards to support their cause.
On Monday 8th August, they delivered all the donations to a very grateful team of volunteers at The Pantry on Kirkholt.
Nahida Bashir of Rochdale Boroughwide Housing, who runs The Pantry, was in attendance, and commented,
“Thank you so much for the generous donation. The food will be used to top up the weekly shopping bags from the Kirkholt pantry giving each member more food to help them budget through the week.”
Groundwork Greater Manchester deliver the Team programme in Ashton, Rochdale & Oldham with opportunities to participate in future programmes available to young people aged 16-25 who are not in education, employment, or training. To find out more about the programme or to apply for the next cohort please contact Jill Eckersley, Prince’s Trust Manager on jill.eckersley@groundwork.org.uk