Make Them Pay: We’re backing the call for a just tax system
The Make Them Pay march this Saturday (September 20th) will see thousands of people demanding that the Government introduce a just tax system. We back them.
Marchers are demanding the UK Government take substantive action to tax extreme wealth and polluting corporations, so the country can re-invest in public services, protect workers, and tackle the climate crisis.
The demonstration will assemble at Portland Place, London at 12 noon on Saturday 20 September and has been organised by the ‘Make Them Pay’ coalition, a civil society alliance made up of 70+ organisations, including Church Action on Poverty, Global Justice Now, the Climate Justice Coalition, War on Want, the PCS Union, the Fire Brigades Union and more. Organisers have stated they expect thousands of people to take to the streets.
Three key demands
Their protest aims to rally support for three key demands:
- Taxing the super rich to fund public services
- Creating decent, well-paid and unionised jobs in sustainable industries around the country
- Making polluting corporations foot the bill for climate action.
Why Church Action on Poverty supports the campaign
Liam Purcell, chief executive of Church Action on Poverty, says::
More and more people are being swept into poverty by an ongoing cost-of-living scandal, a lack of decent work, and inadequate benefits. It reflects a society that places more value on some people than others. We urgently need real action to build a world where everyone can exercise dignity, agency and power. It's great to see people standing up today for that vision. Together, we have hope and we can work for change.
Liam Purcell
Chief exec, Church Action on Poverty
Make Them Pay: We want and deserve better
Izzie McIntosh, one of the lead organisers for the Make Them Pay demonstration says:
“Energy bills are rising, living standards are going down, climate change is destroying communities, and the super-rich are raking in the profits – all at our expense. No more. This September we will take to the streets, united in our thousands to demand our government makes them pay. While our political leaders roll out the red carpet to Trump – a megalomaniac bully who is bankrolled by billionaires and big oil – we will be on the streets representing the interests of ordinary people in this country, united in our diversity from all backgrounds and walks of life, who want and deserve better.”
Make Them Pay: Put people and planet before a wealthy few
Asad Rehman, chief executive of Friends of the Earth, says:
“As people in the UK struggle to put food on the table or pay for extortionate energy costs and rents, billionaires and greedy corporations are getting filthy rich off the rest of us. It’s unforgivable that such a small but powerful minority is being allowed to amass extreme wealth while so many are facing desperate levels of hardship, and our planet pays the price for their reckless exploitation and overconsumption of its resources.
“People are waking up to the fact they’re being played by those who know how to game the system. That’s why we’re coming together in a bid to reclaim our power – because there’s strength in numbers – and to tell the government it must put people and planet before the interests of a wealthy few.”
Fariya Mohiuddin, Deputy Director: External Affairs at Tax Justice UK says:
“Millions of people in the UK want to see politics make their lives better; particularly after years of struggling to meet basic needs compounded by an erosion in public services like healthcare, childcare, and water.
“Despite a change in government, all we’re seeing is politics continuing to work in the interests of the super-rich and powerful who have continued to increase their wealth.
“This is underpinned by a tax system that has one set of rules to protect and grow the wealth of the super-rich, and another set for everyone else.
“It’s high time the government ends this two-tier system and taxes wealth properly, starting with a wealth tax and making sure wealth and work are taxed the same. This revenue can help to make childcare affordable, healthcare available and making lives better. Poll after poll shows clearly that, if the government fails to make people feel an improvement in their lives, they will lose the next election.”
Steve Wright, Fire Brigades Union general secretary says:
“Firefighters are on the frontline of the climate emergency, battling to keep the public safe from increasing wildfires and floods. But with 1 in 5 firefighter posts lost to austerity since 2010, the fire and rescue service is in a state of emergency. While public services have been cut to the bone, the oil and gas giants fuelling this crisis are raking in profits. Billionaires are hoarding more wealth than ever, and the rich continue to get richer at our expense. We demand that the government introduces a wealth tax to fund public services, create jobs, and build an economy that serves ordinary people instead of the super-rich.”
Make Them Pay: A growing case for change
Recent months have seen demands for a wealth tax in the UK – an annual levy on assets aimed at the ultra-wealthy in society – gain more prominence. The UK has a very high level of inequality, with the country’s 50 richest families holding more wealth than 50% of the population. Modelling from Tax Justice UK, shows that a 2% levy on individuals who own assets worth more than £10 million – which would affect only 0.04% of the UK population – would raise £24 billion a year. Meanwhile, energy bills in the UK are set to rise once more from October, affecting around 20 million households.
Empty Plate Project lets local people be heard
Art can be a brilliant way to engage people in social justice issues - as we see here once again
The Empty Plate Project in Wolverhampton is one of the fantastic art activities that was supported by Let’s End Poverty.
The concept was to invite people to make and decorate a plate, sharing their story of the lived experience of poverty.
Just asking “Could you help me with a free art project?” was all it took for folks to quickly move on, or slow down with curiosity.
Organisers expected people to be willing and able to speak about the negative impact of poverty – What actually happened was that people wanted to share messages of empowerment and encouragement: that what will be fragile plates hanging in the art installation hold message of resilience.
It’s such an important thing to hear, and organisers from the West Midlands Methodist Circuit say it is so characteristic of the area.
Even when there were stories of pain, bereavement, late diagnosis of neurodiversity, and struggles, this was only ever in the context of hope, community, and beautiful stubbornness to simply keep going.
Some walked past because they “didn’t have the time” but dozens of people took the invitation to stop for a while. Those who were persuaded to stop just for a quick moment were often those who chose longer and harder methods for decoration and who stayed for ages!
The clay vessels were then fired so they could form part of a launch installation at the forthcoming Bilston Oasis Project – where work towards a poverty truth commission will find a home.
Faith, justice & awesome activists: Niall reflects on his 28 years
Niall Cooper is stepping down after 28 years at Church Action on Poverty. He reflects on some remarkable highlights.
How did you first come to be involved in Church Action on Poverty?
Niall: “My university degree had been in politics and religion, and I knew that I wanted to do that work – not just study it, but to do it. My passion was how the churches could make a difference.
“I worked on a project called the Churches National Housing Coalition, in 1991. I had helped set it up and Church Action on Poverty then took it on. I was doing community work in Hulme in Manchester at the time, and housing was the main issue.
“Then a few years later in 1997, the then director Paul Goggins was selected to stand as an MP, and I was appointed as director.”
What are some of your stand-out highlights?
Niall: “I think they come into four categories:
- the big supporter moments
- the really big policy wins
- the moments of impact in local communities
- and witnessing the inspiring activism of people with lived experience of poverty.
Supporter moments
“The two big supporter moments were the Pilgrimage Against Poverty in 1999, and the Tax Justice bus tour in partnership with Christian Aid in 2013. In 1999, we organised a nine-week pilgrimage from Iona to Westminster. Six people walked the whole way, but thousands of people joined along the route, for a mile or a day or a week.
“It was a significant thing for people to be part of, a once-in-a-lifetime experience. We took a political message and it was amazing – we had a big rally in Trafalgar Square, a service in St Martin-in-the-Fields and the six people who had walked all the way met with the Chancellor, Gordon Brown.
“Then the Tax Justice Tour was amazing as well – we took a double decker bus around the country, engaging people in conversations. Both of those things really engaged people behind a powerful message, and created space for conversations.”
Big wins
“For big wins, I’m going to pick out two. The first was around financial inclusion work, under the New Labour government. We had meetings with a senior Treasury civil servant and we produced a report making the case for investing in affordable credit, as a result of which the Government then invested £120 million into credit unions.
“The other big win was the campaign with Thrive Teesside, around irresponsible high-cost lending. That was led by the women of Thrive over the best part of ten years, with our support.
“The Government was not initially interested, but we built up a coalition with about 80 backbench MPs, and that persuaded the Financial Conduct Authority to properly regulate high-cost lending, and as a result several million pounds in compensation was paid to customers of three main lenders. And because their business model was then broken, that really saw them off.
Community impact
“Along with Oxfam, we introduced Participatory Budgeting to the UK and got the Government to fund us to set up a unit that advised local government. This resulted in over 120 participatory budgeting projects in local communities around the country, each involving hundreds of people – so tens of thousands of people had a direct say in how pots of money were spent in their communities. The Scottish Government then enshrined that approach in law in Scotland.
“A second big community impact success has been Your Local Pantry. We took a very local idea and have enabled 120 communities (and counting!) to open Local Pantries, which are bringing people together through food, and enabling great things to happen. The characteristic of both of those areas of work is that they empower communities to have control and dignity and agency.”
Seeing lived experience campaigners rise up
“I draw huge inspiration from activists who have refused to give up – people like Wayne Green, Sarah Whitehead and Ashleigh May.
“Wayne spoke at the first National Poverty Hearing in 1996, and is still involved now. Sarah started off as a participant in one local project and now runs Community Pride in Salford, advises Joseph Rowntree Foundation and has trained and supported lots of other people to speak up. Ashleigh [pictured below] was made homeless and moved by her council 200 miles away from her community, but has been determined to speak up and create a space for other people, using her experience as an inspiration for making change.
“There are many other amazing people I could talk about as well!”
What big changes have you seen - and what hasn't changed?
Niall: “People’s belief in political solutions has shifted, and certainly the harshness of the DWP at the moment is more brutal than ever. People who don’t experience poverty do not realise just how punitive and brutal it is. That punitive nature of Government systems has got worse.
“As the state has pulled away, we’ve seen churches, charities and communities stepping up. Covid was the biggest example of that, where people stepped up. That trend has been for good and ill. Compared with 30 years ago, so many more churches are doing so much more, but there is still a pervasive attitude in places that it’s about tackling poverty one person at a time, individualising the problem and the solutions.
“One of the things that has endured is the nature of poverty. As Wayne Green said in the 1990s, “poverty is a battle of invisibility and being blamed for society’s problems”. The context has changed, but that is as true now as it was then.
“Another area where we have made strides is in the growing recognition of the importance of prioritising lived experience voices. The Dear Prime Minister letters last year exemplified that – we were able to gather 12 to 15 people, well supported by six or seven organisations around the country, and that would not have happened ten or even five years ago.”
What is your parting message to UK churches - and what are your own plans once you step down?
Niall: “The big task for churches is helping build a powerful movement in which people do feel they have agency, dignity and power, and in which they have enough allies to push back and say ‘enough; we are not going to take this any more’. Churches should invest in that, rather than sticking plaster solutions.
“As for my next steps… Well, in my 60s, I’ve started fell-running, and have just done the Yorkshire Three Peaks race, and I’ll also have some time for seeing family and travelling.
“I’m going to have a bit of a break and reflect on what I have learnt, but I am not stepping away from the anti-poverty movement. This is still what I am passionate about, and I still want to keep in touch with some of the amazing people I have met, but I also want to find out what’s the next challenge I can do.”
Legacies: invest in a future without poverty
Ending poverty in the UK is a challenging task that requires long-term commitment. At Church Action on Poverty, we’re hugely grateful to the passionate, dedicated donors, activists and church leaders who stand with us. We know that many of you have been standing with us for an end to poverty for years or even decades.
In an increasingly difficult climate for charities and fundraising, our brilliant donors have continued enabling people to reclaim dignity, agency and power. Leaving a legacy is a powerful way of building on that dedication.
Since 2023, legacies have made a huge impact in our work. We’d like to thank Sheila Lovibond and her family – she left a hugely generous legacy which is supporting our work in churches and communities this year. Last year, another supporter made a significant donation from a legacy she’d received herself – enabling us to arrange the UK tour of the Dreams and Realities exhibition.
Let your legacy be one of hope and dignity.
In a queue, and newly homeless, I realised: this is where change begins
10,000 miles and counting: Wayne Walton’s fight to end homelessness across the UK
Wayne Walton estimates he has walked more than 10,000 miles alongside homeless individuals. Now, he’s calling for national action—urging the entire UK to wake up, mobilise, and demand solutions.
“That’s what homeless people do,” he says. “You never know how much you’ve walked, but with everything I’ve done, I’d be surprised if it were less.”
Determined to see homelessness not just reduced but eradicated, Wayne Walton is launching a nationwide movement. He’s encouraging people across the United Kingdom to stand together, demand accountability, and help fund a mobile emergency unit to assist people in crisis.
Wayne: It's a nationwide crisis
Homelessness is a national emergency, with rising numbers in London, Birmingham, Manchester, Liverpool, Glasgow—and virtually every town across the UK. Government figures show that rough sleeping has surged since the pandemic, yet support systems remain broken and underfunded.
Wayne Walton believes it’s time for bold action, led by people with lived experience—not just policymakers and charities. He urges cities and communities beyond Yorkshire to join the fight.
“We cannot wait for another crisis. In March 2025, homelessness is worse than ever. The government keeps making false promises, but nothing is changing. We need a nationwide awakening.”
Walking through hardship: Wayne's journey to advocacy
Wayne Walton’s personal battle with homelessness began in 2019, when violence and racism drove him from his home in northeast London. With nowhere safe to go—and his social security payments stopped—he was forced into rough sleeping.
He soon discovered that up to 100 people a night were sleeping in a shopping centre, relying on faith groups for food. That moment shifted his perspective forever.
“Standing in that queue, I felt like I shouldn’t be there. But then I realised—this is exactly where change begins.”
Determined to help, Wayne Walton connected people with aid organisations, gathered a team of Christian activists, and petitioned the government in December 2019—only to be told homelessness couldn’t be solved even in a decade.
Then, in March 2020, the pandemic proved them wrong.
Wayne: The pandemic showed solutions are possible
Within three weeks, the UK government rolled out the “Everyone In” policy—placing thousands of rough sleepers into accommodation. The same Government that had claimed this was impossible for ten years had solved the issue in days.
Wayne Walton became a key part of this emergency response, volunteering at 5am daily to help homeless individuals find shelter. Alongside activists, he even helped set up a temporary village for those missed by councils—transforming an abandoned dairy into shelter with donated blankets, tents, and supplies.
When local officials tried to shut the effort down, media exposure forced them to accommodate those in need. Wayne Walton stayed for a year, distributing aid via a donated minibus.
Expanding the mission beyond Yorkshire
In 2021, a family tragedy sent Wayne Walton overseas. When he returned to the UK, his sister in Sheffield encouraged him to stay for a while—a move that unexpectedly reshaped his mission.
While walking Sheffield’s streets, he felt a spiritual calling—a divine push to finish the advocacy work he had started years before.
Since then, Wayne Walton has developed counseling and evangelism programs, helping homeless individuals nationwide navigate local services. He continues to move between sofa-surfing and rough sleeping, yet remains driven by faith.
“I have hope. That’s what Jesus gives us. God has a plan.”
Wayne's plan for a mobile emergency unit
Wayne Walton’s next step is big—a van-based emergency unit capable of reaching homeless individuals across the UK.
“Too many people can’t get from A to B, can’t transport their belongings, and can’t access support. A mobile unit would change that.”
He recalls helping a blind ex-Muslim man struggling with trauma and anxiety—terrified to leave his home. A mobile response team could bring care directly to people like him.
This is not just about Sheffield—it’s about every city, every town. Homelessness is not a regional issue, it’s a national crisis.
Wayne Walton urges the public across the nation to step up and push for real change.
“Einstein said insanity is doing the same thing repeatedly and expecting different results. The government’s approach isn’t working—people have the answers.”
How you can get involved
Wayne Walton’s group meets every Friday at Barker’s Pool, Sheffield, S1 1EF (6pm-9pm), inviting individuals to organise change beyond Yorkshire. He’s calling for people from all across the UK to join.
They aim to:
- Fund a mobile emergency unit
- Organise rallies nationwide
- Demand government accountability
The movement’s WhatsApp group has 75 members, and supporters can email:
praiseuk3@gmail.com
Upcoming national events
- May 25: UK Prayer Festival at Barker’s Pool, Sheffield
- August 23-25: National Rally—Praise UK (Christian music festival)
“We are seeking the greatest sustainable revival movement in the history of God. We pray daily at 8am, calling the UK to pray together for an hour—asking for sustainable change.”
Help Fund the Mobile Emergency Unit – Donate Today!
Wayne says: “Homelessness is a national emergency – we must act now! We’re raising funds to create a mobile emergency unit that will provide direct support, transport, food and urgent care for rough sleepers across the UK.”
- Donate today.
- Share & spread the word!
- Join us in Sheffield every Friday!
Homelessness isn’t inevitable—it’s preventable. The UK must wake up and demand real change.
Together, we can make a difference. Thank you for standing with us!
Activists work to shape policies of the future
Change happens when people come together to make it happen. Activists with experience of poverty have been doing just that, with three UK universities.
Members of the Speaking Truth To Power panel took part in a national event at London School of Economics with academics and practitioners, and then delivered online workshops at the University of Staffordshire and the University of Salford.
Panel member Wayne Green, from Shoreham by Sea in West Sussex, reflects on the two most recent events.
Wayne: we're speaking to tomorrow's decision-makers
“Why universities? We felt it was important, as activists seeking to end all forms of poverty and exclusion. It is important for students who could be tomorrow’s decision makers, policy makers and future leaders, to fully understand how and why we do what we do and how to challenge power structures, with a human-centred experience besides the academic rational perspective.
“The work at times I found was slow, and now and then disagreements got in the way. But I was learning to dump much of my professional experience, relearning to be more empathetic and take more of a back seat, and try not to see it all from my perspective.
“It was hard for me. But each time we met I could see that I was changing a little more my perspective. Slowly but surely we started to gel really well as a group. And I now understand why the planning took time.
“Finally, we had built two two-hour programmes. We had full control of the design, agenda, subject matter, and timings, and we chose who best to speak on each topic. It was a really fully human-centred, collaborative and equally balanced process.
“The workshops were with the Universities of Staffordshire and Salford.
“We were there by experience to share – for example, to show what the difference is between experience and academic
knowledge, also to show the value of real experience of poverty, the pain, how to avoid tokenism, how to navigate power dynamics, types of power flows, and the value of listening by those in power.
Wayne: You have so much power
“I felt all the lecturers and departments were highly motivated, and positive in working with us, which gave us much confidence.
“We wanted to highlight to the students that they do have power, and how to be more politically active.
“Often your experience and knowledge is more than the power-holders’ or decision-makers’. We showed real-life examples of how people in poverty can still have a voice and make changes.
“For example, we told how we had attended events at Parliament, and led on campaigns in our local communities, and spoke about our experiences of campaigns at local and national levels. It was important to show them what is often missed or not shown.
“It is important for students to see and learn from real-life activists in poverty, as this sets the agenda. They too can change the world.
“I wanted to say, ‘You have so much power, it’s all around us up for grabs. Look at us, look at what we are doing. Do not be afraid.’ As I noted, poverty is a battle of invisibility, it must be won, we must be seen and heard.
Wayne: what I've learned
“What have I really learned from all of this? I think I have learned to be more humble to the other members.
“Even though I find it hard to show, I do really care about them all in the years we have grown with each other. At the end of the day who am I, but a poor weak man offering my small bit of experience to such large problems. But I do believe change can happen and the younger generations have so much more to offer than I for that change.”
We’re listening!
During 2024, we carried out a survey and some in-depth conversations with some of our partners and supporters. Communications Manager Liam Purcell shares some of what we learned.
We know that, in order to end poverty in the UK, we need to be part of a really wide and powerful movement. To help us link people and groups together and support that movement, we need to listen and learn as much as we can from all the people we work with. So we’ve been finding out what we can from all kinds of people – from loyal supporters who’ve been involved for decades, to churches and donors who have only just got involved. We’d like to thank everyone who shared their thoughts with us.
One of the most important things we wanted to hear about was values – what drives people to get involved in tackling poverty and working for a better world? People spoke of:
Faith and Christian values, often with a specific reference to the example of Jesus.
Empathy, compassion and social justice.
Real anger and frustration about injustice and inequality.
A moral obligation to take action, often because they were aware of their own privileged position.
The importance of solidarity and collective action.
Often, we heard that people got involved because Church Action on Poverty’s values align closely with those of their church or project. We know that those shared values are the most powerful motivator to bring us together and challenge injustice.
In our conversations, we explored that idea in more depth – learning about where our work overlaps with other movements seeking peace and justice, and hearing about what makes people feel connected to those wider movements:
- Signing or sharing petitions.
- Meeting with other people in person.
- Being inspired by stories of what other people are doing.
- Praying with other people.
- Being part of online communities.
We also heard about people’s churches. We learned that many supporters hold leadership positions in churches, but only a small proportion of churches are actively engaged with Church Action on Poverty – there’s a big opportunity to for us to do more in partnership with local churches. We also found that most of our supporters are in ‘mainline’ traditional churches. Could we find ways to better serve other churches too, for example independent evangelical churches and Black majority churches?
Now we hope we can build on what we’ve learned and the shared values we’ve identified, to work even more effectively in partnership with all of our valued supporters and allies.
The church must be at the heart of the mishmash of local life
What are the challenges and opportunities in your neighbourhood? And where does your church fit in?
Those are two of the questions that people at the Dandelion Community church have been pondering and acting on in recent weeks, as they try to build one another up, and make change happen.
In February, the church hosted a Vision Day. Church leaders were there; so too were the various organisations that use the building through the week; so too were other local groups; and so too were wider partners.
Dandelion: A hope-filled, bustling day
It was a hope-filled, upbeat day, bustling with conversation and bubbling with possibilities and ideas. It was a reminder of how much energy and ingenuity there is in communities, and how much power there is in bringing people together.
Revd Kate Gray, minister at Dandelion, says: “Feedback has been that it was a really positive and creative day, because of the opportunities to connect with all sorts of different organisations that might not have met each other before. It felt very creative and constructive.”
She highlights two particular areas of work that have grown from the day:
- An exciting collaboration around using green energy to reduce local bills
- A women’s leadership programme
Green energy
“One strand is looking at community-owned renewable energy – a collection of local residents and local groups, including some from Dandelion, are working together on that with a charity partner and a university, and we’ve had the first community workshop.
“We are hoping, particularly with local residents who live immediately around the building, to develop some short and long term responses to poverty by lowering bills. We want Dandelion to become a zero-carbon church and hub, and we have a feasibility study looking at things like ground pumps or a form of hydro-power, and we want solar panels on the roof.
“That would reduce our bills and respond to climate change in the next few years. There’s lots of interest in that in churches and community groups in Wythenshawe and across the wider area of east, central and south Manchester. We would lower our bills but also produce enough surplus energy so that can go to local households, local schools, or other buildings.”
Women's leadership
“Another piece of work is around women’s leadership, and how women want to organise themselves to respond to poverty through collective action, through families, households, social enterprises etc.
“There’s a stream of work with three women-led organisations at Dandelion developing around that. One of those is called Wythenshawe Central and is now a wider network for people and organisations across Wythenshawe. That’s responding specifically to Wythenshawe town centre redevelopment – what do local people need to be in that development?”
Church's role in the community
Dandelion is in a low-income neighbourhood in Wythenshawe, right beside Manchester Airport, and is eager to play a positive role across a wide range of issues.
Kate says “We are developing a church and community hub with a range of partnerships. There are independent partners who are charities, CICs, local enterprises, and we share some values together.
“We want to explore more seriously a small governance-based organisation that includes the Dandelion church, includes the URC more widely, and also includes and has clear representation from community organisations that are based in and around Dandelion. We could develop a locally led, locally steered partnership together (with faith and non-faith groups), where we act together and make bids for pieces of work we want to make happen, and that we have identified together.
“Our role as a church here is to be in the mix. Our role is to be part of conversations with a range of other people and – where those conversations don’t yet exist – to look at creating opportunities to host or facilitate or encourage or generate those. Our role is to have a diverse mish-mash of partnerships and also to do that in a way that’s sensitive to all partners and not necessarily church-led.
“Also, our role is to ensure that Christians who are involved in the life of Wythenshawe are not separate from that. The role of faith is made clear through the practice of faith. In our context that looks like this; in other contexts it might look different.
“There are a lot of churches with buildings in Wythenshawe and we want to encourage collective action to support the use of public space and to value public space for communities to come together to act together. We can do things like encourage people to access support for their mental health, or other services. Church has a role to play and to be an acknowledgement to God.
“I would say it’s clear to me that the Holy Spirit has made it quite easy for us to do this work, because we are open to change and able to adapt our building, our worship, our language, format and style of being church. If we want to keep everything the same, it’s harder for God to act.”
Dandelion in partnership
The Dandelion Community church is a URC church in Wythenshawe. Church Action on Poverty has partnered with the church for many years, and it was a central partner in the Church on the Margins programme.
The town of 250,000 that revolutionised its food system
The town of Reading, in Berkshire, has revolutionised its community food work in the past two years.
Faith Christian Group has opened eight Your Local Pantries with nearby churches, and plans to open two more – with the aim of ensuring everyone in the town has one within walking distance.
Andy Dickens, director of FCG, says it became a charity in the 1990s, focused on providing support for local homeless people. It then began running a home-delivery food bank, and Pantries then felt a natural next step.
Everyone in Reading should be able to walk to a Pantry
He says: “We deliver food parcels to about 170 households each week, to people who have been referred to us in crisis.
“From that, about two years ago, we started our first Pantry. The vision was the next step up for people to get out of poverty but also with wrap-around services and support.
“Norcot was our first one, and in the subsequent 24 months we’ve gone to eight.
“The food bank is emergency supplies of food for people in crisis, and the Pantry is the next step up. People pay £5 and get about £25 worth of groceries. There’s dignity, choice and hope there and we encourage churches to see Pantries as part of their mission to the community.
“The churches collect and get volunteers etc. We have about 80 volunteers giving 240 hours a week of time. This makes the pantries sustainable in the long-term.
“We facilitate and support to ensure each Pantry has wrap-around services, like assistance and advice. We work with Christians Against Poverty who help people out of debt, as well as a furniture charity, Citizens advice and other community groups that do things like cookery courses. We are currently trying to migrate to healthy Pantries, to get more fresh food in.
“We have eight Pantries because we are a town of about 250,000 people. Most people we work with are lonely or isolated and most do not have transport, so we want people to be able to walk to have this opportunity.
“In estates or low-income communities, the Pantries are all within walking distance. And when we have ten, anyone in Reading should be able to access a Pantry. The ninth will open imminently, and the tenth will probably open in the autumn. We are engaged with the council as well; they love the model.”
Reading Pantries build community
Andy says the Pantries have really strengthened community in their neighbourhoods. Last autumn, members at Coley Park Pantry spent several months crocheting a Christmas tree, which was unveiled at a special community event for local residents, Pantry members and church members.
He adds: “At Norcot there is a real community with friends who use the church hall for other activities. There is a great cake baker in that Pantry and they bring in cakes. It’s people getting back to knowing their neighbours. It’s local people helping local people.
“Each Pantry has stories of people who have journeyed with them and joined different craft clubs, parent and toddler groups, other groups, or joined churches.
“Without the Pantry work, they would never have come across each other and joined in with other things. We had one man who came on Friday, and he had not seen anyone since being diagnosed with terminal cancer on the Tuesday. We helped someone with pension benefits to get £10,000 of back payments that been due, as they were on the wrong benefit.
“Someone else said they wouldn’t need to come back, because they had got out of severe debt. It’s little shoots of life and the vision is to support people with subsidised food, healthy lifestyles and support them on a journey of faith.
What Pantries mean for churches in Reading
“When we set up, churches see this as part of their social aid action arm, making a meaningful and intentional difference. There are people finding each other, finding faith, finding connection and finding friendship.
“The churches we are dealing with are getting people across the threshold who would never come on a Sunday morning, and they are meeting new people and new connections.
“It’s a great opportunity for local churches to make a difference to people struggling, and really support people on a journey of faith. Churches see it as part of their mission.”
FCG is also exploring getting more involved in advocacy and helping people do campaigning work.
Andy says: “The charity is thinking through what’s important to us from a Christian perspective. Jesus showed mercy to individuals but more than that he brought God’s justice to society, so we are working deliberately and intentionally with MPs, councillors, national charities to try to get more understanding of what’s happening and formulating our thoughts.
“We want to be able to look back in ten years and see how we have made a difference and raised voices.”
