Game ON! 3 Wards Community SPORTS

The Peoples Pantry are a registered charity ran by a committee with three trustees and 7 volunteers. We are based within local community centers- Wolverham Community center weekly, we also attend sessions within other centers across Ellesmere Port. As a service provider we have continued to grow and grow - from providing one cooked meal to now over 200 meals each week; from one foodbank session to two days each week; from one food parcel to an average of 30 each week - feeding and supporting some of the most vulnerable in our community. We provide a warm, safe space for all residents, also registered as A Safe Space, with two trained trustees, we support people seeking Asylum in the UK, survivors of domestic violence and abuse, homeless people, and those in recovery. We engage with members of the community and encourage them to grow their skillsets by engaging in voluntary work at the center with ourselves or help them find one that would be better suited to themselves. Over the school holidays, we host Holiday Activities and provide meals for children, young people and their families. The residents’ primary focus is feeding their families and heating their homes. We engaged with visitors, most of whom came to the centre for the free meal we can offer. The residents informed us of their main areas of concern: Not feeling adequately informed about how to eat healthy on a budget. Reducing fuel bills. Not understanding the correct benefits. Returning to the work but not knowing how to and know where to access training first Having somewhere to take their family during weekends and school holidays to entertain them, help with being socially active with peers, a meal and being physically active within a safe environment. We open two days a week for food bank collections; operate two days a week, on a Wednesday we offer a two-course lunch, where we also run a well-being session, facilitate a food bank, always have tea and coffee available for anyone who comes in for a drink. People who are homeless can call in and have their flasks refilled or be given two if they have not previously visited, these help as we contact local food bank facilitators around the area to ask them to refill if requested. This helps with soup, beans, spaghetti in one and a hot drink of their choice in the other, anything we can do to make life a little brighter for them. On a Saturday we run a session for families - a breakfast / lunch is provided free, although this is family orientated where we offer, enrichment activities for families who would otherwise go without over the weekend. We are also joined by many others, singles, elderly, homeless who call in also. We have provided food twice a week for the SWEP programme (Severe, weather Emergency Protocol) for 150 people each evening, this has continued once weekly, we are now meeting to see how we can continue to help in the future. We are registered as a place to provide a warm, safe space for our community which we are proud to hold.