'We've seen demand to help families in need double - but we almost had to close'

A Manchester foodbank says demand on their services has doubled in the last two years, due to a rise in poverty.

Despite the increase in demand, north Manchester charity Humans MCR almost had to close in September due to a lack of funding.

Lewey Hallewell, founder of the Blackley charity, told the Manchester Evening News that the amount of referrals to their service has gone from 20k a year between 2019 to 2022, to around 40k last year, outstripping what they can supply on limited funding.

READ MORE: Families are facing hardship in Greater Manchester this Christmas. They need our help

"We've seen exponential growth in terms of demand from last year to this year, and trying to deal with that whilst being in such a precarious position has been a real challenge," he said.

Many of the funding streams Humans previously relied upon have closed down, according to Lewey. The ones that remain have strict requirements on which charities are eligible to apply.

"COVID saw the emergence of lots of new charities - but not lots of new funding bodies and opportunities," he said. "So people are doing their best on limited resources."

"Last year, we turned over £260k, when the ceiling limit for applying to most funds is "250k," he said. "So for the sake of that ten grand, we've actually lost the opportunity to apply for bids of up to £80,000 or £90,000.

"The loss of that has meant that this year has been really difficult."

At one point, the outlook seemed so bleak that Lewey feared he would have to close altogether on September 27. But some emergency funding has kept the charity afloat into the New Year.

Recently, demand has been such that Humans had to temporarily close registration for the community grocers, which lets people buy supermarket items at heavily discounted rates and had 150 families on the waiting list.

"It's broken my heart, but it seemed pointless to get people excited about registering, and then have to contact them to say there were no delivery slots available," Lewey said.

While he estimates that demand at the foodbank has doubled on last year, he has been forced to make a couple of the Human's' team members redundant due to a lack of funds. "It was really sad. There were only seven of us as it is, and we're still covering the same numbers. So life is really tricky at the minute," he added.

"If our clients are struggling, then it's fair to say that we service providers are struggling too."

The Manchester Evening News is joining forces with Humans for the third year in a row to help them raise funds for their Christmas appeal, Nobody Hungry At Christmas. The campaign sees the charity deliver festive hampers to hundreds of struggling families across the region, supplying them with food, treats and presents.

You can donate here

Last year, the M.E.N's campaign to support the Christmas appeal raised £13,844, thanks to the incredible generosity of our readers, and friend of the paper Michael Josephson, who pledged to match every donation made. The whopping sum meant that 840 families across the region enjoyed a home-cooked meal and presents on Christmas Day - this year, Lewey hopes to make it 1,000.

Alongside our fundraising campaign, the charity is asking for donations of gifts that will go to parents and children. You can find the gift wish list here, and can sign up as a volunteer here.

“It is a very expensive project to run," Lewey reflected. "But the entire country stops on December 25. And the harm that is being done if you feel like you’re not part of that national celebration – I think it’s massive.”