The Manna Project

Print thisEmail thisPDF version

The London borough of Barnet is the city’s third largest borough and one of its most prosperous. However, in the same borough exists pockets of deprivation and poverty next door to great wealth. Unemployment has gone up 81% recently and six [6] of Barnet’s areas are listed in the ranks of 10% of the country’s worst deprived areas.

For many in the borough everyday is a struggle to eat and live. Some are born into poverty while others have fallen into hardship. With no financial safety net, a sudden crisis, such as bereavement, benefit delay, redundancy or illness, can leave some people unable to feed themselves or their families.

The Manna Project – The Solution

The Manna Project has been set up to support people in desperate need in the London Borough of Barnet. The Manna Project gives vouchers of monetary value through a referral system. We partner with various agencies including social services, health visitors, local youth workers, housing officers, the police and doctors, to identify people who fall within a set criteria.

These vouchers can be exchanged for items or groceries at any of our Manna stores or from the Mobile Manna Store and ensure that individuals or families in need have access to nutritionally-balanced food and basic essential items to live good quality lives.

The Manna Project goes a long way to helping break the cycle of poverty and deprivation. Help includes access to debt counselling, employment training, Youth Enterprise Schemes and asylum support groups.

How we do it?

• Items of food and other groceries are donated by the people who have a heart for their neighbours.
• The Manna Project volunteers sort the donations and carry out quality checks before repacking them for the stores.
• Monetary donations are given by individuals and organisations.
• Approved customers are provided with vouchers to get about one week’s worth of groceries from any one of our fixed or mobile stores.
• On arrival at the store a customer can use their vouchers to ‘buy’ items of their choice like they would in a regular supermarket.
• We work with the customers on an on-going basis to link them up with appropriate agencies to help them rebuild their lives and maximize their potential.

To find out how you can become part of the solution visit http://www.themannaproject.org.uk/

For more information contact us at The Manna Project, Novo Centre, 12 The Concourse, Grahame Park Estate, Colindale.

Email: office@themannaproject.org.uk or visit the Website: www.themannaproject.org.uk.