FEATURE Unite in the community
n By Keith Hatch
UNITE SUPPORTS LOCAL FOOD BANK
A Glasgow craft branch makes donation
Glasgow’s City Building Craft branch has supported a local food bank after an approach from the nursery where it is based.
Joiner and branch secretary Darren Burrows explained that after Nikki Black, from Winter Gardens Nursery in Tollcross Park, approached the branch and showed them around the food bank, they simply had to help.
Nikki had seen a video of some of the branch’s other work supporting the local community and contacted Darren.
Darren said, “She asked if we would be able to donate £1,000 to help stock up the cupboards in their food bank so they can give it to parents and families who need food.”
Nikki is head of centre at the nursery where the food bank is based, and in 2020 she was awarded an MBE in recognition for her dedication for teaching infants in Glasgow’s East End and for pioneering the use of early years centres as food bank distribution points.
Winter Gardens is Glasgow’s first nursery situated in a park and opened two years ago.
Nikki explained that, “In the nursery our ethos is about family and community and supporting children’s learning and development. Our ethos is about celebrating our children’s successes and achievements as well as the families.”
However hungry children will struggle to learn, and Nikki said, “Poverty is on the rise, so we try hard to do our bit, to try and mitigate as much as we can.”
Darren visited the foodbank, having a couple of tours with Nikki, to find out about the work of the food bank and speak to some of the families and staff.
Darren could see the commitment from Nikki and her team, saying, “The work they are doing there is absolutely fantastic!”
“You can see what it means to her when she talks about it. It’s her life, it’s a full-time job on top of the full-time job she does.”
37 unite buildingWORKER Spring 2025
The nursery team tries to help families as much as they can. They don’t only have a food bank, but also a clothes bank and a small furniture store.
Nikki said, “We try to give people dignity and privacy and trust. It’s a place where they already know us, and where they can go and take what they need. It’s like a small pantry where they can help themselves so they can eat as a family.”
Under the Conservative government, food banks in the UK rose from 35 in 2010 to around 2,800 this year, with the Trussell Trust alone distributing nearly three million emergency food parcels in 2022/23.
With these stark figures in mind Darren said he would encourage branches to do what they can to support projects in their local areas.
Alamy
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40
