One of our Leeds area churches has been supporting their area by hosting a local food pantry.
The Horsforth Community Pantry has opened its doors to members, based in a purpose-built shop and food store next to St James’ Woodside.
The project came together in a year after conversations between the Revd Nigel Sinclair and the Revd Jonathan Cain, the two vicars in the town; Claire Evans, Asset Based Community Development Community Builder for Horsforth; and local councillors.
The opening of the Horsforth Community Pantry is one legacy of the COVID-19 pandemic, when the Horsforth Community Assets Project (HCAP), under the the Abbeylands Team at St Margaret’s, Horsforth, started a food project for vulnerable families.
The food project has been through various incarnations, including a partnership with the Kirkstall Valley Development Trust (KVDT), but it had been a long-held ambition to find a permanent site for a pantry in Horsforth.
The Horsforth Community Pantry is a project that seeks to address financial inequality, which is an issue in stark relief in Horsforth.
The Pantry will work with partner organisations including Children’s Services, the Children’s Centre and MHA Communities, who will refer individuals and families to the Community Pantry for support.
Issues that have been considered in the planning of the project include the affordability of weekly shopping for low-income families, something the Pantry seeks to address this by providing £25 of groceries for the weekly membership fee of £6.
Other issues include poor access to transport for low-income families, something the Pantry is changing by providing a new location in the heart of the area of most deprivation in Horsforth, within walking distance.
The Pantry also is engaging people to help those struggling with the cost of living by providing volunteering/ befriending opportunities and a location to donate food that will go directly to low-income families in Horsforth.
On opening day, Claire Evans said: “I can’t believe what we have achieved in just one year.”
During that year, plans were drawn up, planning permission obtained, funds raised and a building erected.
The building was put together using largely volunteer labour from across churches in Horsforth and Leeds, and the facilities of another St James’/ Horsforth Churches Together Project, the Horsforth Shed.
Funds were donated by a series of organisations and individuals, and one of the donors, Foodsavers Network, continues to support the Pantry in operation, including the provision of credit union accounts for Pantry members.
Revd Jonathan, Vicar at St James’, said: “I am delighted that we can host the Horsforth Community Pantry at St James’ Woodside.
“It’s a great way to demonstrate the abundant generosity and love of God in our community.”