Yare Valley Churches see ongoing need at pantry 

Yare Valley Churches see ongoing need at pantry 

A community pantry set up as a trial by the Yare Valley Churches in 2023 continues to see a need for their provision, with demand outstripping supply

The Yare Valley Churches Community Pantry started in February 2023 in response to a request  to provide boxes of groceries for a small group of families with young school children. However by the end of a 6 week trial period, it was clear that not only was there an ongoing need for what they were offering, but there were also many other families, not all of whom had young children, who also needed support with food

 As a result members of the Yare Valley Churches, based in Braydeston, Brundall and Postwick, set up the pantry, which operates once a week from  a secure room within St Laurence Church, Brundall. The pantry is open access with no need for referral or registration. It opens alongside a Community Cafe’ located in the nearby St Laurence Centre. The pantry now has a team of 7 volunteers, and is hoping to open for a second morning each week once all the volunteers have completed their training

The reasons given for people attending the pantry are numerous, including low wages, ill-health, those seeking asylum, relationship breakdowns and more. For some people the need is limited to once during a crisis, but others are regulars who come every week

Currently provisions are mainly sourced from anonymous donors within the church family, but the pantry is increasingly looking to partner with the wider community in terms of recruiting volunteers, encouraging donations and promoting wider use. Already the local primary school, Women’s Institute and Parkrun have made donations, and links have been made with the Scout and Cub groups. Nevertheless, with the increasing need, demand is currently outstripping donations

Diana Buck, one of the team who set up the pantry says “We keep hoping that numbers will dwindle, and the need for help reduces, but this has not yet been our experience. In fact, the variety of reasons people give for coming has changed, and there seems to be a well of hidden deprivation within our local communities. Many say their ability to manage has been made more difficult by delays, in getting benefits sorted, difficulties in coping when starting new work, not being paid if they are sick when they are newly employed

“We look for positives, we would be happy to be obsolete, but prices are still high, rents are up in the private sector, even probate and court hearings are delayed leading in some cases to hardship. And we have come across real long-term problems, following re-locations because of eviction or family breakdown”

The pantry currently opens on Mondays between 10.00am - 1.00pm



Photo of volunteers at the Yare Valley Churches Pantry courtesy of Paul Smith