Steph and Spark volunteers have always enjoyed cooking meals for the children, parents and grandparents at the after-school clubs. They use seasonal produce and national food days to add variety to their meals, and encourage the children to adopt healthy eating behaviours and try new things. A lot of parents say their children are “fussy” when they first come to the club, but over time, they become much more open to trying different foods.  

Steph says

“The cooked meals bring the children together, bring the parents together, and get people talking. It builds relationships and you see the families thrive. Especially now, when some parents are going without. At least we know that whilst they’re with us, they’re getting fed – and whatever we have as surplus, they go away with.” 

 

---

During the pandemic, the local food bank was about to shut down due to volunteers needing to shield. Volunteers from Spark and the newly formed Burntwood Be A Friend stepped in to ensure it could remain open. At the same time, the Spark Centre activities had to move outdoors and online, resulting in the cancellation of surplus food deliveries. In order to adapt to the new situation, Burntwood be a Friend, Spark and partners changed the food model, and erected a marquee outside the food bank where people could access surplus fruit and veg. Local churches such as St. John’s Community Church and St Anne’s Church along with support from Burntwood Town Council were instrumental in all working together for the needs of the town. Volunteers came on board to help with food collecting, delivering and sorting and another marquee was erected at the front of St Anne’s Church for food distribution. This partnership working across the town was the start of ‘Burntwood Be A Friend’. 
 

---

Burntwood Be A Friend works to alleviate isolation and loneliness, promote wellbeing and provide access to support and volunteering opportunities. As part of their efforts to increase financial resilience amongst residents, the Community Store helps people save money and eat well.

At Burntwood Be A Friend people are provided with healthy food, and receive information on how to access support for the root causes of their problems. Burntwood Be A Friend started partnering with many other local organisations offering a wide range of advice and support. They review each member’s individual situation and what problems they need help with. The member is then introduced to the appropriate organisation to access services for help with debt advice, mental health issues, drug and addiction support, or opportunities for training or volunteering. 

Burntwood Be A Friend piloted this approach for 6 months and noticed it relieved the pressures on the food bank, and provided an essential support for those who had been too ashamed to seek help before. Even those who had been reliant on the food bank every week previously, found that with Burntwood Be A Friend they were able to make progress and get back on a firmer footing.
 

 

---

The Store builds relationships for the volunteers too. Some are lonely, bereaved, or may not have worked for a while. People are welcomed from lots of backgrounds, including those who couldn’t speak much English, but now they can and volunteer or work at Spark or Burntwood Be A Friend. Thereare many activities for people to get involved with, such as wellbing walks, community gardening and social events. Anyone can come in, and everyone’s treated as an equal.  

Membership to the store is £3 a year, plus £5 or £10 per package. Before the Store opens to the public, staff from Spark visit to get fruit, veg and snacks for the groups. There is a soup maker in the Store and people can pop in and get soup and a roll for a 50p donation. Members can ‘pay it forward’ and buy “Kindness Voucher” credits for others to redeem if they are desperate for food.

 
As with Burntwood Be A Friend, The Store acts as a Community Hub and enables members to access a wide range of additional support and services.

Amongst the surplus food donations, the Store receives baby food, which is directed to the Spark Baby and Children's Bank, along with donations of toys, clothes, shoes and bras. There are “Warmer Welcome” sessions, offering a warm space for people to meet over a cup of tea, and regular men's and women's wellbeing walks. There is a Burntwood Be A Friend community garden, where fruit and veg is grown and then harvested by the children and taken back to be cooked and eaten by the children and parents. 

Steph says

“So many different people use the Store – unemployed people, workers, single people, families, international families and refugees, and social workers access food for people in emergency accommodation.” 

 

---

Cost of Living Crisis 

There are lots of challenges with the Cost-of-Living Crisis, alongside current shortages of surplus food. They have seen a massive increase in people accessing the provision. The Store is struggling with volunteer shortages and there are also massive financial challenges. Burntwood Be A Friend is a non-profit charity - and the team is doing everything they can to keep going – organising fundraisers and raffles, asking local businesses and people for support.

Steph says

“I’ve noticed we have had quite a lot of people accessing the service with special dietary needs that they can’t afford. We had a woman join a few months ago who had been quite violently ill, because she’d been really struggling with finances, and having to eat foods that are a trigger to her, and make her ill, because she couldn’t afford specialist foods”.  

“I just think everything is so uncertain at the moment. I’m very worried that if something isn’t done to help organisations and charities like us, very soon that they’re going to go under. And then what happens to all these families? What happens to the volunteers? I’ve grown this from the heart, this is personal. I’ve put love, sweat and tears into this and I’m really worried that in 6 months’ time we may have to close. If our electric bill is what it is now – and it’s due to rise soon – what do we do? Where do we find that money?” 

“When we first set up the store we had funding from the National Lottery, the Community Fund. We were set a challenge to work with 40 families within 12 months. Last year we signed up 654. Some households have 1 person – some have 10. The true scale of people just accessing the Community Store is massive, never mind the families who access the food provisions at Spark. It’s phenomenal”. 

Steph can personally demonstrate the impact of regular access to healthy food. 

"I have lost 11 stone since accessing Spark. When I first started accessing Spark I was 22 stone, I couldn’t get on the floor or tie my shoelaces and that was because I couldn’t afford to access fruit and veg. I knew what to do, I just genuinely couldn’t afford it. Growing up I didn’t have access to fresh produce, it was all cheap and cheerful processed food. So this is why I set up the children’s group. As I was accessing the food from FareShare my diet was improving, I was feeling better about myself, getting more active. I wanted to set something up for my daughter and other children aged 4-8 to stay with their parents and access activities and have a hot meal. I have been able to demonstrate how we can live better and feel better”.  

“We do what we do because food shouldn't be a luxury, if we are running on empty then how can we be the best version of ourselves? How can children learn to the best of their ability, be healthy and grow without essential nourishment?” 

Paul, volunteer, is 62 years old. After travelling the world in the air force, he settled back in Burntwood and was introduced to the store by his partner, Shelly.  

Paul says

“Volunteering here holds a dear part of my heart, because it’s Burntwood-based. I enjoy the Shop because it’s social, it’s interactive. It’s doing two good purposes - we’re saving things from going into landfill and general waste. We’re also helping to feed people with good produce, at a reasonable price, at a time when they most need it. The team is excellent, very social, very welcoming. We get repeat customers, so we build up a relationship with them, and we meet new people from different backgrounds.”