I'm thrilled with the £3,000 funding from Manchester Airport for our community kitchen
Volunteers at a Wythenshawe community kitchen say a £3,000 grant from Manchester Airport’s Community Trust Fund will help provide hot meals for up to 40 people each week.
The team at FoodCycle Wythenshawe Brooklands cook up a free three-course community meal each week, turning surplus food that would otherwise go to waste into a delicious meal for those in need of one.
Now they are making use of a new industrial dishwasher after their venue, the Church of the Nazarene in Brooklands was awarded the maximum amount, £3,000, by the Trust Fund.
Since launching in September 2021, the FoodCycle Wythenshawe Brooklands volunteers have served up more than 5,000 free three-course community meals, and saved almost seven tonnes of surplus food from going to waste.
Volunteer David Quayle, said: “We’re thrilled with this funding from the Manchester Airport Community Trust Fund, allowing the church to replace an old and obsolete dishwasher, which means we no longer have to assign volunteers to keep on top of washing up the old-fashioned way. We can now focus on cooking nourishing meals for those who need them.”
He said: “The great thing about this project is that we are not only providing vulnerable or socially isolated people with a hot meal and somewhere to socialise, we are also cutting food waste, taking surplus food donated to us by local businesses and turning it into nutritious, filling meals for people in need.”
Adding: “Our community meal is open on Wednesdays from 5pm and no booking is required – all are welcome.”
The Manchester Airport Community Trust Fund group meets quarterly and makes pledges worth up to £100,000 every year to groups based within 10 miles of the airport, including parts of Manchester, Tameside, Trafford, Stockport and Cheshire.
Also receiving a grant is Stockport Trinity Cricket Club, which has also received the full £3,000, towards the cost of new wicket covers. Peter Herbert, the club’s Treasurer, said: “Increasingly wet summers mean that we lose a lot of playing time to the weather and these improvements to our facility will mean a significant reduction in down time. The grant application process was straightforward and, as a small charity always struggling for funds, we are extremely grateful for the Community Trust Fund’s support.”
Hidden Treasure Trust in Partington will receive just under £1,500 to purchase new table tennis tables.
Ruth Lancey, CEO of Hidden Treasure Trust, said: “We are absolutely delighted to have secured this investment from Manchester Airport’s Community Trust Fund for our community. With the leisure centre closed, it provides another space for residents to be able to get fitter and meet others.”
Robert Pattison, Chair of Community Trust Fund, said: “We’re proud to have been able to support such a diverse range of applications made to the Community Trust Fund and we’ve already supported more than 30 good causes so far this year, reaching thousands of local people. When we say Manchester Airport is proud to serve the people of Greater Manchester and the North, we don’t just mean by connecting them to the places they want to fly to – and the Community Trust Fund is a vital part of our strategy for supporting our neighbouring communities.”