The Harrogate charity pioneer looking for one last jobHelp at hand for families struggling to put food on the table in Harrogate and KnaresboroughFinancial woes force Harrogate café to closeA café set up to reduce food waste, loneliness and food poverty in Harrogate has been forced to close due to financial pressures.
Resurrected Bites’ Give As You Can café has been held at St Paul’s United Reformed Church in Harrogate on Wednesdays, but low footfall and high costs have made it unviable.
Michelle Hayes, director and founder of Resurrected Bites, told the Stray Ferret:
“We’re making such a loss that we’re getting to the point where we can’t cover staff wages. We can’t sustain it.”
Resurrected Bites also runs a community groceries scheme with bases in Harrogate and Knaresborough for people in food poverty, as well as two other cafés, at Gracious Street Methodist Church in Knaresborough on Fridays and at Killinghall Methodist Church on Thursdays, which she said are still doing well.
Resurrected Bites’ expenditure for the first three months of this financial year varied between £15,000 and £17,000 per month, resulting in a shortfall of £8,000 to £10,000 to be made up from grants or fundraising.
To help stabilise the organisation, Ms Hayes has split it, with the Resurrected Bites charity as the main fundraising body covering the community groceries and environmental aspects of preventing food waste. As a charity, any donations are eligible for Gift Aid, boosting them by 25%.
But the cafés are not eligible for charitable status because there are no restrictions on who may provide custom.
Ms Hayes said:
“Charitable status would restrict us to only serving people who are lonely or in food poverty. We feel that our existing model of focusing on the environmental aspects of food waste enables us to support people who are in food poverty or are lonely without stigmatising them.
“Legally, the charity cannot support the shortfall in finances for the community interest company, and so we have to ensure the cafés raise enough revenue to cover their costs.
“That’s why we had to make the very difficult decision to close the Harrogate café whilst we consider how we can generate more income to cover its costs.
“We’re hoping that it’s temporary. We may be able to find a new venue with a bigger space so that we can get more people through, and attract a wider range of customers who can pay more.
“Once we get through this rough patch, I think we’ll be alright.”
Photo: The Killinghall Methodist Church cafe run by Resurrected Bites remains open.
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Stray Ferret Christmas Appeal: Match funding brings total to more than £30,000This year’s Stray Ferret Christmas Appeal is for Resurrected Bites in Harrogate and Knaresborough. Today, the final day of our appeal, we look at its success and the difference your donations will make to this vital organisation.
The fundraising page remains open. Please give generously to support local people who are struggling this Christmas. They need your help.
The last four weeks have seen an incredible £25,000 donated to the Stray Ferret Christmas Appeal.
The campaign has been supported by Techbuyer, which generously offered to match fund up to £5,000 of donations from the public and other businesses.
With their contribution now added, the total raised through the appeal is more than £30,000. Helen Blakey from Techbuyer said:
“Techbuyer have been involved with Resurrected Bites in various capacities over the last couple of years donating IT hardware and providing monetary donations.
“As champions of the circular economy, we think it is important that every resource is properly used – especially when precious food can help sustain someone in need. That’s why we chose to work with Resurrected Bites as their values really resonate with ours.
“We are amazed at the generosity of local people and businesses that have helped increase the total. It is reassuring to know that, with the success of this appeal, many more people can enjoy as merry a Christmas as possible.”
Thank you to everyone who has given any amount, large or small, to our appeal. Every penny will go directly to Resurrected Bites and will make an enormous difference to local people.
Thanks to your generosity, Resurrected Bites goes into 2023 with a more certain future.
Not only can it continue to support the customers who rely on its community groceries and enjoy its pay-as-you-feel cafe, it can welcome more people through the doors.
Times are hard for many and, with the cost of living set to rise further next year, it is likely more people will find themselves struggling to pay their bills and put food on the table.
Some of the stories we have heard have shown just how easily people can fall into a situation where their incomes do not cover all their outgoings.
Take Ickle Mills, mum to a young son, who found her maternity pay was nowhere near what she had expected. Despite her partner’s steady job and good income, the family suddenly struggled to afford food after the added expense of a baby. She said:
“All of a sudden, we were hundreds of pounds down a month on what I would have earned.
“We were at the point of incurring a lot of debt. Thanks to Resurrected Bites, we didn’t. It was the only thing that kept us from having to fall into quite bad debt.”
Resurrected Bites enabled the couple to buy milk and other supplies for their son, as well as putting food on the table for themselves. As he moved onto solid food, Ickle found she had access to produce she might otherwise not have been able to buy, giving him a varied, healthy diet – all while reducing the amount of food going to landfill.
Then there was Justin Hardcastle, for whom a series of bereavements led to a mental health crisis – and Resurrected Bites was among the organisations that stepped in to help, alongside housing charity Lifeline. Now volunteering in its grocery and cafe, he told us:
“I love coming here. It gives me a purpose. Everyone is so friendly and I feel like I’m giving something back.
“It’s heart-warming and beneficial for me, just to be part of a team and know I’m appreciated…
“I feel like I contribute – I give as much as I can. Thinking about where I was, if it wasn’t for Resurrected Bites, Lifeline and my network of friends, I don’t know where I would be now.”
Justin Hardcastle, left, and Lara Rundle
For single mum of four Lara Rundle, the problems began when her youngest child went away to university.
A small pay rise from the NHS meant she was no longer entitled to benefits, leaving her £90 a month worse off – and health problems for her and one of her children further impacted on her finances.
Speaking to her GP practice about the challenges she faced, Lara was referred to Resurrected Bites. She told the Stray Ferret:
“You feel you are paying something, so it’s not a hand-out. It’s fresh fruit and vegetables. They’re the kind of things I can’t afford to buy.
“If I go to the supermarket, the only thing I have to buy is cheese and butter, sometimes meat. There’s stuff there I could never have afforded to buy even if I wasn’t in this situation.”
The impact on her mental health has been significant, taking away the pressures she was feeling. She said:
“It has made such a massive difference. I know I don’t have to worry.
“If you have an extra fiver you put it on your account so you don’t have to worry about paying next time.
“I just can’t thank them enough. They’re angels. The service is a life-saver.”
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Resurrected Bites also has plans to extend its service and reach more people in new communities.
In early spring, founder Michelle Hayes hopes to open its third pay-as-you-feel cafe, this time at Killinghall Methodist Church.
Like the others at Gracious Street Methodist Church in Knaresborough and Harrogate’s West Park United Reformed Church, it will use food that would otherwise go to waste. Ingredients collected from supermarkets and other commercial outlets will be turned into delicious, filling hot meals.
A roast beef dinner at Resurrected Bites’ pay-as-you-feel cafe in Knaresborough
They’re sold on a pay-as-you-feel basis: if anyone can’t otherwise afford to eat out, they can contribute whatever they are able for their meal. The cafes are also open to those who can afford to give more, as cafe manager Ian Booth told the Stray Ferret:
“Often, people don’t come because they think it’s just for people who are struggling. We’re absolutely dependent on people who can afford to give generously.
“At the same time, it’s great when people come who can’t afford to, knowing that someone who is struggling has had a good hot meal.”
As Ian begins to look towards retirement, Resurrected Bites is recruiting cafe managers for both the new Killinghall cafe and the West Park cafe. Ian knows just what a privilege the roles will offer:
“I always think one of the best things about my job is the people I work with.
“We’re totally reliant on volunteers. The sort of people that volunteer are nice people, kind and caring, thinking of others.
“I just feel so blessed to have so many nice people to work with.”
To find out more about Resurrected Bites and the paid and voluntary roles it has available, visit its Facebook page.
While the Stray Ferret Christmas Appeal has officially ended, the donation page will remain open over the Christmas period.
Click here to contribute now. Thank you.
Stray Ferret Christmas Appeal: ‘I shouldn’t need this – but it’s a lifesaver’This year’s Stray Ferret Christmas Appeal is for Resurrected Bites in Harrogate and Knaresborough. Today, Vicky finds out how a series of life events left one woman unable to afford food.
Please give generously to support local people who are struggling this Christmas. They need your help.
“I feel guilty every time I go to Resurrected Bites. I keep saying I shouldn’t be here. I work full-time for the NHS. But it’s a life-saver.”
Lara Rundle is a single mum to four grown-up children.
For the last three years, she has lived in Burton Leonard, having moved up from the south-east following the death of her father.
It was the first in a string of events that left her struggling to cover all her outgoings – even before she tried to buy food.
“I had lost my dad and he was helping me pay my mortgage. Even a rabbit hutch in the south-east is mad money.
“When he passed, he said to me and my brother that he had left the money to clear our mortgages. We found out after that his partner had accidentally lost the will and she took everything.
“My house was on the point of being repossessed and I had a breakdown.
“I had only been in Harrogate twice in my life and had a midlife crisis and said I was moving to Yorkshire.”
With some savings in the bank and a small, fixed-rate mortgage, Lara had enough money to get by. However, a reaction to the covid vaccination left her leaving hospital treatment and unable to work for some time.
As she recovered, Lara received some devastating news:
“The second of my four children was in a car accident in Sussex. She broke her back in two places.
“Her friend was killed, and another friend was in intensive care.”
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Lara spent many months travelling up and down the country to visit her daughter, eating into her dwindling savings.
She began to look into ways to cut her costs and find some money.
“I’ve got this big, flash car that I can’t afford, but because it keeps breaking down, the garage won’t take it back. It’s in negative equity. If it wasn’t for that, I would probably be OK.
“I’ve got equity in the house – I’ve got a very small mortgage, but the building society won’t let me release any equity because they said I don’t earn enough to repay it.”
Lara had been in receipt of some benefits, but that changed when her youngest daughter went away to university. She was given an annual pay rise of £90 a month, which meant she was no longer entitled to the £180 a month she had been receiving in Universal Credit.
At £90 a month worse off than before, she then received a letter saying her council tax was going to increase because the valuations office believed her house should be in a higher band.
Lara simply didn’t know what to do.
Shelves full of products at Resurrected Bites’ community grocery
She was helped by her GP practice, which put her in touch with Resurrected Bites.
She became a customer of the community grocery at Gracious Street in Knaresborough, paying £3 for a shop worth many times that amount. She said:
“When my kids were small, I was on my own with four kids and we did have to use a foodbank.
“Now they’re grown up, I never thought I would be in this situation again.
“I had never heard of Resurrected BItes before.
“You feel you are paying something, so it’s not a hand-out. It’s fresh fruit and vegetables. They’re the kind of things I can’t afford to buy.
“If I go to the supermarket, the only thing I have to buy is cheese and butter, sometimes meat. There’s stuff there I could never have afforded to buy even if I wasn’t in this situation.”
With her daughter well on the road to recovery and the support of Resurrected Bites when she needs it, as well as welcoming neighbours in her new home, Lara feels much more positive about the future.
She said:
“It has made such a massive difference. I know I don’t have to worry.
“If you have an extra fiver you put it on your account so you don’t have to worry about paying next time.
“I just can’t thank them enough. They’re angels. The service is a life-saver.”
Nobody in the Harrogate district should go hungry this Christmas.
It costs £300 to run the community grocery for one day. Please help to keep it open for everyone who relies on it.
Click here to contribute now.
New foodbank planned for JennyfieldsA charity battling against food poverty is planning to set up a new foodbank in the Jennyfields area of Harrogate.
Harrogate District Foodbank already runs foodbanks in Harrogate, Starbeck and Knaresborough and is now looking to open a fourth in response to an upsurge of demand.
Alastair Pollard, trustee and warehouse volunteer at the charity, said:
“When people are referred to us by their doctor, church or Citizens Advice we hold minimal information about them, but one thing we do have is their postcode. That gives us an indication of where there is greatest need, and we’ve seen a lot of new referrals coming from the Jennyfields area.
“We’re currently looking for suitable premises and aim to open there sometime in the new year.”
He added:
“The cost-of-living crisis is a major problem for some people, with the price of food and utilities going through the roof. People are living week to week. They have to pay for electricity and gas, but then there’s sometimes no money left for food.
“At the start of 2022 we were feeding an average of 63 people per week, but in October 2022 we fed up to 93 people per week – about a 50% increase.”
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Research by Save the Children has found that more than one in three (37%) families on Universal Credit and Child Tax Credit will rely on charity food parcels this Christmas.
Much of the food distributed by Harrogate District Foodbank comes from donations made by shoppers at supermarkets in the town. Each week the charity collects and distributes over 800 kilograms of food. So far this year, it has distributed 37 tonnes of food to people in need. Mr Pollard said:
“We are so grateful for those that help us. Some people simply purchase an extra tin of vegetables or custard on the supermarket run; others donate at harvest festival. One 60-year-old graciously asked his birthday party guests to donate money instead of buying presents and brought us several hundred pounds’ worth of food.
“Last week, a young dad was touched by a report on the TV news showing a little girl whose family couldn’t afford food. He said, ‘I can afford to help. I wouldn’t want someone like my daughter to suffer’.”
Harrogate District Foodbank’s existing foodbanks are at Mowbray Community Church in Harrogate, Holy Trinity Church in Knaresborough, and Life Destiny Church on Starbeck High Street.
The organisation is part of the Trussell Trust, which supports over 1,200 foodbank centres across the UK and has a mission to eradicate the need for foodbanks altogether.
Readers wishing to support the work of Harrogate District Foodbank can donate money via its website, or food and non-food items, such as toiletries, at any one of the supermarket collection points, which include Waitrose, Morrisons, the Co-op and Sainsbury’s.
Ex-Ripon Grammar student completes 48 marathons in 48 daysFormer Ripon Grammar School student John Clark has completed a remarkable feat of endurance by finishing 48 marathons in 48 days in 48 English counties.
In doing so, he has so far raised almost £38,000 for children in food poverty. He aims to achieve £48,000 and donations can still be made through www.JustGiving.com/campaign/484848
Mr Clark’s own family struggled to survive on benefits after his father suffered life-changing injuries in a work accident.
His mighty marathon venture, which amounted to 1,248 miles, finished in Worcester.
John Clark during his school days at Ripon Grammar.
The 34-year-old, who left Ripon Grammar in 2003, said:
“The challenge was even more physically and mentally demanding as I expected but the support of so many people kept me moving forwards.
“From injuries, to blisters, to extreme wet weather conditions and heatwaves there were new and interesting challenges almost daily but each day, 26.2 miles got finished regardless.
“The 48/48/48 wasn’t just about raising funding but also raising awareness.
“Throughout the challenge so many conversations were had, radio, television airtime given and newspaper columns written about the crisis this country faces and the 48. It felt like we were genuinely making a difference.
“It was about planting seeds around the country with the ambassadors, runners and schools that support the project and our hope is that those that ran with me will go on to create their own Miles4Meals events in the future to continue the financial support and awareness raising that our nations foodbanks and charities need.”
Mr Clark, who has competed in international strongman events and now owns a chain of gyms, set up the charity Miles4Meals to help families facing the same issues that he did as a child.
His life changed when his father Alan, a roofer, broke his back and shattered his foot in a fall after scaffolding collapsed.
Mr Clark added:
“I understand the difficulties families face and the hard choices that need to be made with minimal budgets available for basic living expenses.
“I hope to make a difference, so others don’t have to experience the same as I did.”
The coronavirus pandemic has increased problems faced by families across the UK with an estimated 8.4 million people living in food poverty.
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Former Ripon student to run 48 marathons in 48 daysA former Ripon Grammar School student is to run 48 marathons in 48 days to raise £48,000 for children in food poverty.
John Clark’s own family struggled to survive on benefits, after his father suffered life-changing injuries in a work accident.
The 34-year-old will attempt to run the 48 marathons in a different county every day for a grand total of 1,248 miles.
John Clark from his school days at Ripon Grammar.
Former international strongman Mr Clark set up the charity Miles4Meals to help families facing the same issues that he did as a child.
He explained why he is attempting the extreme feat of endurance:
“I grew up in a household with a disabled father and a mother who was his full-time carer.
“We lived in food poverty, reliant on government support to make ends meet.”
His life changed when his father Alan, a roofer, broke his back and shattered his foot in a fall after scaffolding collapsed.
Mr Clark said:
“I understand the difficulties families face and the hard choices that need to be made with minimal budgets available for basic living expenses.
“I hope to make a difference, so others don’t have to experience the same as I did.”
The coronavirus pandemic has increased problems faced by families across the UK with an estimated 8.4 million people living in food poverty.
Mr Clark, who left Ripon Grammar in 2003, owns and operates a chain of gyms.
He is appealing for volunteers and supporters to help him along the way in their local county, starting in Northumberland on July 5. reaching North Yorkshire on July 16 and eventually finishing in Worcestershire on August 21.
After leaving Ripon Grammar, Mr Clark studied sports and exercise science at university and took up strongman competitions after breaking his neck in a scrum collapse, which left him unable to play rugby.
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Now living in Worcester, he was crowned Britain’s Natural Strongest Man in 2015 and 2016, and when further injury curtailed his strongman career, the former Malvern Rugby Union player took up triathlon.
The Miles4Meals charity, which he set up in May, also works with the Trussell Trust, which campaigns to end hunger and destitution by supporting more than 1,200 food banks in the UK.
For more information visit: www.miles4meals.co.uk/484848. You can follow Mr Clark’s journey on Instagram www.instagram.com/_john.clark
Ripon’s Community Diamond receives her sparkling prize
The first winner of the Ripon Community Diamond Award has received her special custom-made prize.
Suzanne Bowyer, was selected from a high calibre entry of nominees.
The award was sponsored by The Vintage Rooms and run in conjunction with the Stray Ferret.
It set out to find people who go the extra mile to help others.
The independent judges were the Mayor of Ripon Councillor Eamon Parkin and Bishop of Ripon The Rt. Revd Dr Helen-Ann Hartley.
Suzanne selected a custom-made white gold necklace featuring the diamond as her prize.
They chose Suzanne for her outstanding work at the Community House Food Support service in Allhallowgate.
It has helped hundreds of people trapped in food poverty because of the financial strain brought by the pandemic.
The presentation of a custom-made necklace with diamond, white gold setting and chain was delayed because of the covid lockdown.
Now, however, Suzanne has collected her prize and said:
“It’s a great honour to receive this award.
“I look on it as recognition for the whole team.
“They work so hard at Community House and continue to help people in need.”
Speaking on behalf of both judges, Dr Hartley, pointed out:
“There are so many community-minded people in Ripon
“Any one of the nominees would have been a worthy winner.
“That meant we had the very difficult task of finding just one individual.”
The original idea for the award came from Mike and Liz Cooper, owners of Red Buttons Jewellers and Hedley Hall, who run an antiques, vintage models and collectables business.
The friends traded together in the former Wrens department store and, when it closed, relocated to The Vintage Room in Queen Street.
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Mr Cooper, said:
“We congratulate Suzanne on her selection as the city’s first community diamond and thank all those who made the award happen.
“Through the nomination process, we found out about the people who are the beating heart of Ripon and make it such a special place.”
Salvation Army ready to help Ripon families in needAs another lockdown looms, organisations in Ripon are preparing to support those most in need.
Major Christine McCutcheon, the officer in charge of the Salvation Army’s headquarters and church in Lead Lane, is anticipating a surge in demand for the services provided by foodbanks as Christmas approaches.
Major McCutcheon says the organisation locally is ready to respond.
She told the Stray Ferret:
“My particular concern is for those people who are under the radar and struggling to make ends meet through no fault of their own. When coronavirus first impacted on Ripon, there was a sudden ten-fold increase in the demand for food parcels that we were providing.”
Donated bags of pasta will help some people in need to feed their families.
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As the crisis deepened, The Salvation Army linked up with the Food Support foodbank, based at Community House in Allhallowgate, which provides a lifeline for people in Ripon, Boroughbridge and surrounding villages.
Christine and her colleague Alison Hewitt are now gearing up to fill parcels with Christmas food items and toys for families living in the area.
She said:
“In previous years, as part of our Christmas appeal supported by Morrisons supermarkets, we have prepared 200 bags of food and included between 300 and 400 toys, which parents can wrap up themselves to give to their children.
“This year there is likely to be a demand for more and we are again seeking help from the people of Ripon, who have always been extremely generous in providing new toys, food and cash donations.”
For those who haven’t previously called on assistance from The Salvation Army, Christine has a message:
“We handle all enquiries and referrals on a confidential basis. For some, that help might be over a short crisis period, between the loss of a job and the start of Universal Credit payments.
“There is nothing to be ashamed of – we are here to help and not to judge.”
Anybody in need of help or advice can contact the Salvation Army by calling 01765 692657