Homelessness charity, Emmaus Salford, is celebrating after receiving £15,000 in funding from Salford City Council’s Household Support Fund.
The funding has been used to support over 65’s by offering them free membership to Emmaus Salford’s food bank, Lucie’s Pantry. It has also provided each customer with one energy-efficient kitchen item, the most popular proving to be the air-fryer. Eligible customers who signed up before 1st October 2022 are now being supported by Emmaus Salford.
Lucie’s Pantry was established in 2017 to support people faced with financial hardship or in poverty and help them avoid becoming homeless. The pantry provides a sustainable and affordable source of food and household essentials to members of the Salford community struggling to make ends meet through debt, illness, or low income.
The household support fund is a scheme funded by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) for those most in need of support to help with significantly rising living costs.
The ‘cost of living crisis’ is having a detrimental impact on older people, who are often on a fixed income and tend to spend more on energy bills than other households.
The Centre for Ageing Better’s annual State of Ageing report, published in March 2022, stated that one in five pensioners are living in relative poverty in the UK, which is an increase of more than 200,000 in the last 12 months.
Jackie Smith, Community Director said: “It was a huge relief to receive funding at this critical time, the reason we focused on free food parcels over these coming months is to try to add valuable support to general well-being by easing food insecurity. In addition, providing one energy-efficient kitchen item per customer was supported by our very own Lucie’s Pantry cookbook and an eight-page power-up booklet, which also provides ideas on how to cook a nutritional meal with pantry items whilst saving on energy costs.”
Emmaus Salford supports formerly homeless people by providing them with a stable home, meaningful work, and support for as long as they need it. Whilst at Emmaus, people gain skills, experience, and confidence by working within the charity’s social enterprise and Lucie’s Pantry social supermarket.
To find out how you can support Lucie’s Pantry, head to https://emmaus.org.uk/salford/our-services/lucies-pantry/