When it’s locked up, it resembles nothing more than an ordinary shed.
But this is actually a powerhouse.
It is the I Am Reusable Community Food Bank. And its founder John McGall kindly gave YorkMix a tour.
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John has been forced to launch a crowdfunding campaign to save the food bank after it was threatened by a planning wrangle.
It has been running for four and a half years, and helps around 120 people a day, 365 days a year.
Before he set it up, John worked with the homeless. The food bank began when Covid hit, as a table filled with donations. Then the shed was created and it became, in John’s words ‘a community hub’.
“I know what it’s like to be nearly homeless,” John said. “I’ve been there and done it.
“I’m a York Poverty Truth Commissioner. So we’re making change in York.
“And people need to be fed. Even on Christmas Day, we are open. And last Christmas, we had over 200 people down.”
Donations come from supermarkets, cafés, farmers and York residents. But the work doesn’t end at the shed.
“My volunteers go into town and hand out sandwiches from Pret on an evening, soup, sandwiches, pastries,” John told YorkMix.
“If we do get some big donations, then we send them to Carecent, the probation hub. If we get a load of sandwiches tonight, we can send them to Changing Lives.
“We send food to the schools. If York council come to us, and say we need a food parcel for a family we send extra food to them. So it’s a big, big thing.”
As he says: “It’s just not a shed. It’s bigger than a shed. It’s a community hub, and that’s fantastic.”
Find out more at the I Am Reusable Community Food Bank Facebook group.
