Stefanie, Sam, and Ben braved a chilly Monday evening to run the 2.3 km each way to the foodbank drop-off location at ASDA in Hulme. Inspired by Random Acts of Kindness Day, we dropped off a range of food such as rice pudding, instant noodles, pasta sauce, and peanut butter. All part of the Holiday Hunger donation drive (details below), we hope that the small donation helps those who need it.

Manchester South Central Foodbank have a Holiday Hunger donation drive to help out those children who would normally get free school meals:

"Winter is a tough time for everyone. At our food bank we are currently supporting around 100 clients a week. With the rising price of food and bills, people in our area are struggling to choose between heating and eating. You can support people in your local area by donating to us. Last year we distributed 1033 holiday hunger food parcels to families in crisis. Our Holiday Hunger project provides a lifeline for families during the school holidays, by providing food parcels containing breakfast and lunch items and reading activities."

They also have online pages for donating items:

• an online donation site to donate food online that is delivered to their warehouse
• a monetary donation page too.

Manchester Central Foodbank also have a few locations in Manchester for accepting food donations to provide for those who need it. For other nearby foodbanks/donation points, Trussell Trust have a handy search tool.

There was a February chill with hail, rain 🌧, and a blustery wind to welcome Peter and Ben to St George's community centre in Collyhurst. We were also welcomed by a brand new sign outside that had been installed the previous day!

Once Peter had found the centre, Cath gave us our paint brushes 🖌, rollers, dust sheets, and paint for us to get to work sprucing up the corridor area of the centre 🎨

One wall was orange, to match Peter's post holiday tan, and the other magnolia. Masking tape became our best friend to reduce paint going where it shouldn't while a handy folding chair 🪑 enabled us to reach parts near the ceiling.

Peter was very adept with the roller while Ben cut in and filled in patches near sockets, fire escape signs, and around door frames.

Despite the area size, we out did ourselves by finishing(!) the job in the corridor with minimal spillage, even covering the area outside the toilets. I put this down to the fantastic supply of tea, coffee ☕️, biscuits 🍪, and pastries 🍩 fuelling our efforts. The friendly pup 🐶 helped too.

It was a great way to spend a Saturday morning indoors helping out the community centre. Hopefully next time a bigger group can help with painting in the hall and reception area!