When Money Saving Expert Martin Lewis utters the words “I am virtually out of tools to help people now”, you know the situation is critical. Speaking on the Sunday Morning programme last weekend, Lewis speaks of the UK facing the ‘worst cost of living crisis he has ever seen’.
The independent Joseph Rowntree Foundation believes that ‘around 600,000 people will be pulled into poverty’, of which around a quarter are children.
1 JRF finds that families in poverty will be £446 per year worse off in 2022-23, compared to if benefits had been uprated in line with current inflation levels - Joseph Rowntree Foundation.
Deputy Chef Adam Parkinson spoke to ITV Granada last week about our training kitchen, and how batch-cooking can help keep food costs down. You can listen to the audio in the header of this newsletter.
Our training kitchen serves to teach people how to prep and cook good quality food from scratch ingredients, as well as helping trainees boost their employment prospects by acquiring hygiene and food safety certification.
Easter Collections
Thank you so much to everyone who has already contributed to our 1,000 egg challenge - we are well on our way to hitting our target - here’s Laura with just some of your donations.
At a time when disposable income is virtually non-existent for so many struggling families, being able to offer Easter eggs in our Community Shops can help take away some of the financial pressure parents face to provide for their kids around seasonal holidays. According the a recent article by the New Statesmen, these small pleasures are ‘melting away’.
2 “In terms of any kind of luxury, is a KitKat a luxury? Yes, it is. My brain won’t let me [buy them]. It says: ‘no, we don’t need those.’ - Barker-Marsh
Thank you to all our supporters who have taken the time to put these fantastic collections together for our clients and customers.
Street Engagement Hub
Here’s a quick glance at the accommodation figures for February at the Street Engagement Hub - a multi-agency initiative hosted by Mustard Tree and working with the rough sleepers team, neighbourhood policing team, CGL Drug and Alcohol Services, Probation and more.
In February the HUB received 106 presentations through the doors.
63 individuals were looking for accommodation in Manchester, and by the 14th March, 21 of those had been accommodated.
Hosting the Street Engagement Hub has enabled us to work with people facing crisis on the streets - alongside our core mission of combatting poverty and preventing homelessness.
“Coming here to the Hub and Mustard Tree has helped me a hell of a lot. Now I can get up in the morning and the first thing on my mind isn’t where am I getting money from – it’s what am I going to be doing today to occupy me. I wish I had done it a long time ago.”
The Street Engagement Hub operates every Tuesday and Thursday at Mustard Tree Ancoats - you can find out more via this article by Big Issue North.
Can you help us combat poverty and prevent homelessness?
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"I am virtually out of tools to help people now"