Delicious UK - (12)December 2020

people.

18 deliciousmagazine.co.uk

TELLUSABOUTIT

Haveyouexperienced

a lifechangeorbeen

inspiredtotrysomething

newforthefirsttimethis

year?We’dlovetohearyour

story.Writetousatinfo@

deliciousmagazine.co.uk

InNewcastle’sWestEnd,there’s

anincreasingnumberofpeople

whodon’thaveenoughtoeator

lackessentialsduetoinadequate

formalsupport.Wetalkedtoone

ofthefoundingmembersof

ElswickMutualAid,which

providesfoodandsmallgrants

andorganisescommunity

swap-and-shareevents.The

focusisonmutualsupport,and

forthatreasonthepersonwho

tellsthisstoryhasasked us not

to use their name.

“Itstartedjustbeforelockdown,

withpeopletalkingonFacebook

abouthowthepandemicwould

affectthelocalcommunity,

especiallywithunderfundinginthe

charitysectorandsocialservices.

Weknewfoodbanks,soupkitchens

andotherorganisationsweredoing

goodthingsandwantedtoaddto

that.A groupofusdecidedtotry

tomakesureourneighbours were

abletogethelporfood.

Westartedbydoingshoppingon

people’sbehalfandorganisingfood

events.ThefirstwasonMayDay,

withfoodcookedatmembers’

homesandmoneyraisedcollectively.

Peoplealsodonatedbooks,clothes

andplants.Asylumseekerswho

weren’tabletoworkbutwhohad

time to spare cooked large quantities

ofexcellentfoodthatweservedup

ontablesinthestreets.Wemust

havegivenawayhundredsofmeals.

Wefoundtherewerepeoplewho

werereallyhungry,sowewanted

tocarryonanddoit moreregularly.

Wedevelopeda relationshipwith

thecharityFareShareandstarted

givingoutsurplusfoodeveryday.

WecontactedBTtoaskpermission

tousetwophoneboxesintheWest

Endofthecityasplacestoleave

foodforpeopletocollect.Many

peopletoldushowmuchthey

wantedfreshfruitandveg,sowe’ve

madesuretheygetthosethings.

Weaskfordonationsfrompeople’s

allotmentsacrossthecity.

Wethinkofpeopleasmembers

ofthegroupratherthanvolunteers.

It’smutual:therearemanywho

receivefoodwhoalsodeliverit to

others.There’snomeanstesting–

if peopleaskforthings,wesource

them.Thefundamentalideais that

if youcanpay,youshould, and if

youcan’t,youdon’t.

Peoplewetalktowhogetfood

parcelsoftensaytheywanttopay

• it’sa desirenottobeinpoverty,
  tohaveautonomyintheirlife.I’ve
  beenindesperatesituationsmyself,
  sothatfeelingis familiartome.
  Theseissuesaren’tnewbutthey’ve
  increased in rate and intensity this

year.Somethinggoodis coming

outofit,though.We’resettingup

anorganisationandwehopeto

finda venueforthat,althoughit’s

difficult.Withnoevictionbanand

peoplelosingwork,wedon’tknow

whatwinterwillbelike.What

keepsusgoingis thatwe’vegot

nutritiousfoodtosomanypeople.

We’refindingthattobuilda better

world,youdoit streetbystreet.”

Addto ElswickMutualAid’sfundat

opencollective.com/elswick-mutual-aid;

Twitter:@MutualElswick; Facebook:

ElswickMutualAid

livethatwayanymore.

I’vediscoveredwhat’s

importanttomeandI’mnot

sureI’dhavefoundit if this

yearhadbeendifferent.I live

bymyselfandI’mproudofhow

I’vecopedoverthepastfew

months.Seeingthingsprogress

andgrowmakesyourealisethe

worldcontinuestogrowand

prosper.It is hopeful.”

Lorrainerecentlycreatedan

Instagramaccountto shareher

gardenadventures– find her at

@girllovesgreen

THE COMMUNITY

DYNAMO

Whatkeepsus

goingisthatwe’ve

gotnutritiousfood

to so many people

GOODNEIGHBOURS

Foodisshared

viaphoneboxes

andsocially

distancedstreet

events