Jonathan Cain, Vicar at St James’ Woodside gives this very encouraging update on Horsforth Community Pantry: ‘Many of our friends in Horsforth churches will remember the conversations about the plans for a Food Pantry in Horsforth at the Cafe of Hope last October. By the grace of God, this project is coming to fruition.’
‘Claire Evans and others at Horsforth Community Assets Project (HCAP) and St Margaret’s have moved part of the existing pantry operation from Kirkstall into a temporary home in St Margaret’s Parish Centre. The Horsforth Community Pantry opened its doors in this temporary home on 07 November. Working with referrals from the Children’s Centre, Children’s Services and MHA Communities, the Horsforth Community Pantry opens its doors every Tuesday morning to serve a number of families and individuals from our town.’
‘In parallel with this operation, the St James’ Woodside PCC obtained planning permission for a new building to provide a permanent home for the Pantry, adjacent to The Horsforth Shed.
We are grateful to Steve Burras (Cragg) for completing the design of the building, guiding us through the planning process and for his ongoing support. Financial support from Developing Success Ltd, Leeds City Council, Horsforth Town Council, the Farmer’s Market and FoodSavers, gave the St James’ PCC confidence to commence the construction of the Pantry building in February. Through contacts with Leeds City Council, Morgan Sindall and their partners Moortown Construction Ltd completed the construction of the foundations free of charge!
A Lent appeal across Horsforth churches has already yielded generous pledges of support from Lister Hill Baptist Baptist Church, the Horsforth Community Cafe at St Margaret’s, and others, and we are closing the gap on the fundraising target.
A team of volunteers from across local churches and led by Pete Gillions and Steve Burras has constructed the wall panels for the Pantry building in The Horsforth Shed, and these are ready to erect in early April.
Claire Evans, HCAP Manager is delighted with the progress made: “We set up a community pantry just over two years ago to help transition people away from dependency on food parcels. Unfortunately at the time we didn’t have a suitable location in Horsforth so it’s great to finally be able to bring the project ‘home’. Horsforth Community Pantry is about more than just food, we provide members with the dignity and choice of being able to shop the groceries they need, whilst reducing their weekly outgoings on food, and building relationships with our amazing volunteers and other pantry members, it feels like a family.”
Residents are typically referred to HCAP by our partner organisations who we have worked closely with for a number of years. Members pay £6 a week with an option to join the FoodSavers scheme where £1 of their membership fee is put into a savings account in their name with Leeds Credit Union. They can choose food items which would have totalled 3 times as much as this (or more) if they had bought them in the supermarket.’
The team at St James’ hope to have the new Pantry building ready for occupation by the end of May and to move the operation from its temporary home at St Margaret’s during June. Please continue to pray for God’s continued blessings on this project as Horsforth Churches seek to serve the town and give God glory.