Humans MCR – Delivering smiles

Macc recently managed the latest Spirit of Manchester Fund round of grants which focused on organisations that support people with the cost of living crisis. We will be sharing one story a day in July to show the impact of these grants and the wide range of projects that they supported. Today, we have the story from Humans MCR:

Humans MCR turns the traditional foodbank on its’ head, providing clients with both short- and long-term solutions to help them out of food poverty for good. Our wraparound service includes our Foodbank on-wheels and Community Grocers on-wheels (all our food support services are delivery based), as well as seasonal projects and Learn with Humans – free, educational classes equipping clients with the tools and skills they need to thrive on their own.

The cost-of-living crisis has taken a massive toll on both our clients and our organisation – our foodbank in particular is busier than ever and we are feeding up to 500 clients per week.

One such client, A, contacted us in crisis. She was experiencing multiple points of deprivation; housing, mental health and was struggling to feed herself and her three children. Her health made it difficult for her to leave the house and as such as was unable to access traditional foodbanks. We worked with her and offered her a food parcel every fortnight, including fresh food to ensure her children got the nutrition they needed. When she is in a more stable situation, we will offer her a space on our Grocers list, creating a more sustainable way to feed her family without the supermarket price tag. She said, "The help from Humans MCR has had a really positive effect on my mental health – it has meant that I can stop worrying about where food is coming from, and free up some money to pay my gas bill. Thank you!"

The £1000 from the Spirit of Manchester Fund has allowed us to continue to support clients like A – the fund helped to repair our main delivery van (without which we wouldn’t be able to continue our vital services!) – which will provide impact for months and years to come.