Bridging a gap that’s becoming bigger
On Monday this week, we recorded the highest ever number of Food Club visitors in a single day - 126. In any other circumstance, a record-breaking day would be something to celebrate. Today, we are left with the solace that we’re able to support more people in different ways - and we couldn’t do that without your help.
The graph below illustrates the steady rise in Food Club visitors between April 2021-22, driven by a cost of living crisis which has yet to peak before further fuel price increases in October.
If you want to know more about our refurbished Food Club, and how you can help keep it stocked, click the below blog post by Laura, or follow this link.
There’s no denying that everything feels a bit scary at the moment. The knock-on effects of Brexit, Covid-19 and war, now coupled with great uncertainty within our own government. When consumer confidence falls and inflation rises - people suffer. We need to remain focused on our mission in combating poverty and preventing homelessness, and will do all we can to improve the economic wellbeing of our people.
Audible Abseil
In lighter news, we had a wonderful time with some of our supporters at the Trafford Centre charity abseil at the end of June. Over 35 supporters took the 170ft plunge from the top of the centre’s Palazzo tower, raising almost £10,000 for our causes!
You can listen to highlights from Friday’s session by clicking ‘play’ in the header, or check out our Instagram Reel for footage from both days.
We’re now looking at packages for Tough Mudder in October at Heaton Park. Want to get involved? Drop us an email to information@mustardtree.org.uk to register interest.
Alex’s Story
Alex joined Mustard Tree in 2021, as a trainee on The Freedom Project. He had done some charity volunteering in the past, but had yet to secure his first paid job.
Through his previous voluntary experience, Alex developed an interest in cooking and gained his Food Hygiene Level 1 Certificate whilst training with us in the kitchen.
Alex has a number of learning difficulties including dyslexia, dysgraphia and dyspraxia. Through The Freedom Project, he was hoping to gain new skills, explore his passion for cooking and build confidence and independence.
Click here to read Alex’s Story
Today we’re hosting a tour of our Ancoats hub as part of the GMCVO Communities in Control week. If you couldn’t make the event but want to come and see our Manchester or Salford hubs, drop us an email or call and we can arrange.
Can you help us combat poverty and prevent homelessness?
If you enjoy reading our newsletter and want to support our work, the best way you can do this is by joining the Real 10k and setting up a regular gift to help keep our services running. We have an aim to recruit 10,000 donors - each giving £5 a month - to help secure our charity for years to come - and create lasting change across Manchester and Salford.
Please join us in this mission by clicking the button below.
To our partners who are already supporting us with a monthly donation, please share this newsletter with friends, family members and colleagues - and thank you so much for all your ongoing support. Your kind donations are vital for us to continue our work and much appreciated by us all.
"We had our highest ever number of Food Club visits today - 126. Pre-covid, a busy day was 25”