Harrogate charity which has served 20,000 weekly food shops issues new warning on cost of living
A hard-working Harrogate community group which has served 20,000 weekly food shops since it was launched less than five years ago is warning of the growing struggles of families right on our doorsteps.
Resurrected Bites, which has been credited with preventing hundreds of local families from going hungry after its founder Michelle Hayes started it in late 2021, aims to offer an affordable way for people to access good quality, nutritious food, as well as reducing food waste from supermarkets and other suppliers.
A key part of the support it offers is its community groceries, which are based in New Park Primary Academy in Harrogate and Gracious Street Methodist Church in Knaresborough.
The groceries are not food banks where food is free and choice is limited.
They run through a subscription scheme and for a small, annual fee, members have access to the shop, can select the items they want just like in a normal shop or supermarket, but only pay a fraction of the price.
In recent months, the charity has seen how more and more people are suffering through the cost of living.
Michelle Hayes, CEO of Resurrected Bites, said: "The perception is that Harrogate and Knaresborough are affluent places, so there can’t be a need for initiatives like community groceries, but that’s simply not true.
"In Harrogate District, research shows that one in five children are living in poverty, which means that almost 6,000 children here are growing up in a household that may not be able to afford enough to eat.
“Since we started the community groceries we’ve seen a growing number of people facing food poverty, many who are working but just can’t make ends meet.
"This problem looks set to get worse as council tax, water and energy bills increase significantly from April.”
In response to the growing crisis, Resurrected Bites has created additional capacity to support more people.
And it is set to host an open day to welcome new members to join its community grocery scheme.
The event will take place on Thursday March 27 at New Park Community Grocery at New Park Primary Academy on West Street in Harrogate.
In a six-month period last year, Resurrected Bites, which also offers wraparound support services including budgeting advice, a work club, cookery courses, and three ‘pay as you can’ community cafes each week, prevented 56 metric tonnes of good quality food from going into landfill, in keeping with its mission to "fill bellies not bins”.
Information: https://resurrectedbites.co.uk/