Macc will work with Cracking Good Food (www.crackinggoodfood.org) on a two month project focusing on food poverty. It will give people suffering from food poverty, and those working with them, new skills and the ability to tell their stories. We will highlight these valuable insights to the influential people and policy makers who could help make a difference. We will also produce simple 
resources to encourage people to cook something nutritious using simple ingredients.
15 million tonnes of food is wasted in the UK each year alone. Homelessness has risen seven fold since 2010. Average life expectancy in Manchester is 79 years for men and 83 for women. For a male rough sleeper however life expectancy is 47 and for women it is 43.
There are three different aspects to this project:
1) Training up to 40 people to become accredited Community Reporters
These trainees will be recruited from four different groups currently operating in Manchester:
• FareShare – Support communities to combat food poverty and food waste in and around Manchester, redistributing food to over 160 charities and community groups
• St Apostle’s Church – Cooking group of octogenarians in Miles Platting, East Manchester who also feed and house the homeless
• Mustard Tree – Transform the lives of people in Greater Manchester who are trapped in poverty or homelessness, by enabling them to gain the skills and self-confidence (www.mustardtree.org.uk)
• Reach Out to the Community – Offer support and food for rough sleepers in and around the local area of Chorlton, Manchester
We will be training volunteers from these four groups to make their own short (two minute) films telling their stories related to homelessness and cooking with unwanted and redistributed food. They will highlight the issues an increasing number of people are facing and encourage more people to cook, either with food that would have gone to waste or for homeless people. As well as producing a wealth of valuable content (up to 40 short films) the trainees become part of a Europe wide Community Reporters Network. We want them to continue to make films on their stories and share these with other Community Reporters (via https://communityreporter.net/) beyond the life of the project. Participants will receive ongoing support, information on Community Reporting opportunities, voluntary and paid, and access to relevant equipment.
2) Making five overall campaigning/information films:
Greater Manchester Poverty Action will present the films to the new Mayor of Greater Manchester who was appointed in May 2017, and they will be sent to every MP in the country. The films will use the training participants stories on food poverty and include information, statistics and footage to present a clear picture of the current situation. We will produce a specific area within the Community Reporters website highlighting these films and encouraging existing Community reporters to tell their stories and add their comments.
3) Producing ‘Suggested Dinner’ cards and providing 'Starter Spice' boxes:
Cracking Good Food’s community cooking groups are very effective but they currently reach a limited amount of people. We would like to encourage more people to cook using simple ingredients (provided by Fareshare) to create tasty, nutritious meals. Using the four groups we will work with a professional cook to develop simple ‘Suggested Dinner’ cards. The cook will demonstrate how people can prepare a range of nutritious and tasty meals using three simple ingredients (a bit like Ready Steady Cook!). The Community Reporters will take pictures of the cooking stages and these will be used to produce a set of cards. These will be distributed along with the ingredients to those who could benefit from them. We will also put together simple 'Starter Spice' boxes for each group to give to their clients. This will enable people to create tasty meals with simple, cheap or donated ingredients.