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A postcard view can hide a quiet crisis. On the North East coast, we meet a village split between seaside tourism and year-round struggle, where high prices, long bus rides, and limited choice make a weekly shop feel out of reach. We sit down with headteacher Helen Isaac and volunteer Graham to unpack how Seton Primary turned its school hall into a lifeline—hosting a Bread and Butter Thing hub that brings fresh fruit, veg, chilled food and staples straight to families who need both affordability and access.

What unfolds is part logistics masterclass, part love letter to community. Helen shares how a three-class school builds confidence across ages, keeps the whole school moving with a daily mile, and opens its doors to neighbours beyond the school gate. Graham explains why the packing line feels like a party, how surprise surplus becomes a friendly swap, and why local volunteers—not just staff—belong front and centre. We explore the “portfolio shop” people wish they could do, the reality of a single convenience store priced for tourists, and the difference a consistent weekly hub makes when buses run thin and supermarkets are seven or eight miles away.

We also dig into the power of relationships. Our CDDOs show up week after week, learning names and stories, anchoring trust that turns a food bag into agency. Schools prove to be the beating heart of a place—familiar, walkable, and ready-made for partnership. The result isn’t just full fridges; it’s kids trying new foods, parents stretching budgets without fear, and neighbours turning a queue into a conversation.

If you care about rural food access, tourist towns, school-community partnerships, or practical ways to fight the cost-of-living squeeze, this story offers a clear map and real hope. Subscribe, share with a friend who’d love it, and leave a review to help more people find the show.

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What happens when a third-generation family brand refuses to cut corners, even as retail tightens the screws? We sit down with Fran and Paul from Porky Whites to unpack the unglamorous truth of supermarket shelves, price wars, and the tug-of-war between integrity and margin. They share why wholesale now makes more sense than constant retail promotions, how own label reshaped the category, and the quiet power of holding the line on recipe and welfare standards.

You’ll hear a rare, plain‑spoken take on sourcing: why they’re open about not always being fully British on pack, what high welfare means in practice, and why paid badges aren’t the only route to trust. We dig into the reality of promotions and loyalty pricing, the poverty premium baked into multi-buys, and the way perpetual deals can train shoppers to see the real price as a rip-off. Fran explains why they won’t change the meat just to hit a number, even when competitors do, and how that stance has kept the brand’s reputation intact through a rough year.

The heart of the story is food waste and community. A misdelivered pallet connected Porky Whites to The Bread and Butter Thing, turning surplus into meals instead of landfill. The Christmas near-miss is unforgettable: three pallets, around £16,000 of product, rerouted to families who needed it most. We also spotlight their partnership with the Halo Project, where adults with learning difficulties co-created bold new sausage flavours, proving brand building can be generous and joyful.

If you care about food systems, ethics, and how small choices scale into real change, this conversation is for you. Follow and share the show, leave a review if it resonated, and tell a friend who loves honest food and honest stories.

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A mixed bag of food can feel like a puzzle — unless someone shows you how to turn it into dinner, conversation, and community pride. We sit down with Sue, a powerhouse hub leader in Maidstone, to uncover the reality behind a town often labelled affluent. Parkwood sits in the top 10% for deprivation on the Indices of Multiple Deprivation, with food and fuel poverty, health inequalities, and isolation shaping daily life. Sue and the Fusion team respond with practical care: slow-cooker courses, starter cooking sessions, and a live “ready steady cook” night that transformed surplus into meatballs, giant pigs in blankets, and blackberry crumble.

Across the chat, we unpack why trust beats signposting. Fusion brings partners like Citizens Advice into a safe, familiar room, adds advocacy so people aren’t left to navigate alone, and keeps dignity front and centre. Community events aren’t an add-on; they’re strategy. Easter egg bingo, summer picnics, and a homegrown panto build belonging, spark joy, and give residents a reason to show up, meet neighbours, and stay connected. That’s how a food club becomes social infrastructure: it stretches budgets, reduces waste, and opens doors to wider support.

We also dig into the data. Hyperlocal IMD maps help target help where it’s needed most, showing the stark contrast between streets. That’s the thread running through this episode: empowerment over handholding, relationships over referrals, and consistency over promises. If you believe food can be a tool for trust, learning, and resilience, you’ll find ideas here worth borrowing for your own neighbourhood.

Subscribe for more stories of practical community action, share this with someone who cares about food justice, and leave a review to help others find the show.

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Food insecurity isn’t just about the weekly shop; it’s about dignity, stability, and the confidence to plan ahead. We sit down with Georgia from Comic Relief to explore how Nourish the Nation with Sainsbury’s is helping food clubs become community anchors that prevent crisis, reduce waste, and create real breathing space for families. 

From funding models and evaluation shaped by lived experience to hands-on initiatives like the Living Library and the Seasoning Shuttle, we unpack how smart partnerships turn empathy into action.

We trace how the partnership started in 2022 and why food clubs are a practical, dignified alternative to emergency responses. Georgia shares on-the-ground stories—like a single mum juggling three part-time jobs—showing how a predictable, affordable shop can spark hope and stretch budgets. 

Beyond the groceries, we talk wraparound support: debt advice, housing help, digital inclusion, benefits navigation, and mental health tools delivered with partners such as Mind. These services transform a pickup into a pathway, helping members build resilience while staying rooted in their neighbourhoods.

We also reveal the mechanics that make it work. Sainsbury’s Inspired to Cook range channels customer spend into grants; Comic Relief provides governance, reach, and storytelling to amplify awareness. Together, the aim is simple and bold: move from crisis to long-term security, normalise food clubs as a central solution, and keep joy on the table—through shared recipes, community ties, and weekly moments that bring people together. 

If you care about poverty, community, and practical change, this conversation shows how lived experience can shape funding and policy in real time.

Listen now, share it with someone who should know about food clubs, and subscribe for more stories that turn local action into lasting impact.

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What does life look like when the pub lights go out for good? We sit with Dino, a veteran publican whose seven-day workweeks ended in lockdown, and follow his path through empty cupboards, mounting debt, and the quiet bravery of asking for help. His story is raw, practical, and full of heart: batch cooking stews into freezer tubs, turning chicken fillets into comfort curries, and finding a brew and a chat at a community food hub when the world felt small.

We explore how The Bread and Butter Thing’s neighbourhood model lowers grocery costs while restoring dignity, with volunteers and members sharing the same line and the same laughs. Dino arrives early to lend a hand, not for a badge, but for belonging. Along the way, StepChange becomes a lifeline for managing old credit card balances that no longer add up, showing how debt advice and affordable food work together to create breathing room. The maths is stark—sometimes £20 left after rent and energy, roughly 70p a day—but the solutions are human: kindness from friends, energy top-ups, and a welcoming space that turns isolation into community.

Our conversation looks beyond crisis to the architecture of resilience. We talk practical tips for stretching ingredients, the stigma that keeps people away from help, and why designing support to feel like a local shop matters for mental health and dignity. We even dare each other to try a 70p-a-day challenge, not as a stunt, but to understand the grind so many face. If you care about food poverty, community, and realistic ways to help, this story will stay with you.

If this resonates, follow and subscribe, share the episode with someone who needs it, and leave a review so others can find these stories. And if you or a friend could benefit from affordable food and a friendly hub, head to breadandbutterthing.org to find your nearest location.

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What does it mean to “do everything right” and still come up short? We sit with James, a support worker caring for adults with learning disabilities and autism, to trace the real maths of modern poverty: long shifts, term‑time childcare gaps, energy and rent hikes, and the slow erosion of a family’s “nice time” pot. James talks candidly about budgeting in pots, living on beans so his son could eat well, and the relief he found through The Bread and Butter Thing—affordable, nutritious food close to home that stretches cash and eases stress without stigma.

Across the conversation, we unpack why care work—so essential during COVID—remains underpaid, and how that collides with childcare economics that can penalise families for taking extra hours. We challenge the myth that phones and laptops are luxuries, showing how digital access underpins benefits, rota changes, school updates, and everyday life admin. We also ask the tough question: does James consider himself poor? His answer opens a bigger idea—poverty as a spectrum—capturing the difference between crisis and the constant grind of just-about-managing.

Along the way, there are glimmers of hope: a new job with slightly better pay, more hours for his partner, a carefully saved-for holiday. But the takeaway is clear. Stability shouldn’t depend on heroic budgeting or skipping meals. Community support like The Bread and Butter Thing helps, yet the long-term fix requires fair pay, childcare that truly unlocks work, and policy built for how families live now.

If this conversation resonates, follow and share the show, leave a review to help others find it, and send us your thoughts or stories. Subscribe for more real voices from the communities we serve and the people keeping them going.

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A family finds a way through a system that too often blocks the very basics. James and his son, Braith, talk candidly about becoming homeless, paying monthly to store the things that make a house feel like home, and the long wait for essential adaptations that would let Braith live safely and independently. Their story is grounded in the realities many people face right now: age-based housing criteria that don’t fit need, carers without bus passes in Greater Manchester, and the strain of choosing between a van to retrieve furniture and food for the week.

What shines is their resilience—and Hannah, the seizure-alert dog who changed everything. With a 20–30 minute warning window, medicine can be prepared and injuries averted, turning nine seizures a day into a few a month. We explore how a local affordable food hub and a partnership with Sale Moor Community Partnership helped them break the storage trap, secure white goods, and rebuild routines. Braith, a former award-winning sound designer, offers a moving lens on joy as a soundscape: the warmth of evening streets, the laughter of strangers, and the rare days when health, money, and transport align.

We also unpack the systems-level gaps that keep people indoors—slow adaptations, retrospective building costs, and funding promises that vanish—alongside the small interventions that make a big difference: neighbours who know your name, hubs close enough to walk to, and support that arrives when it’s actually needed. It’s a human story about access, dignity, and the power of community to turn coping into progress.

Subscribe for more honest, ground-level stories. Share this episode with someone working in housing, health, or local government, and leave a review to help others find it.

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Ever felt that knot in your stomach when the phone rings or another brown envelope lands on the mat? We go straight at that feeling with the Money and Me team from Mind in Salford, unpacking how money stress and mental health lock into a vicious cycle—and how small, steady changes can unlock control and calm. From the first brave step of opening bills together to six weeks of guided sessions, we map the journey from avoidance to action in a way that’s humane, practical, and surprisingly hopeful.

We start with the realities our community knows too well: “tap-and-forget” spending that hides in bank statements, micro-subscriptions that quietly multiply, and takeaways ordered when energy or mood is low. The team shares simple tools that punch above their weight—three-month spend analysis to surface patterns, weekly meal plans that shrink food waste, and jam-jar budgeting with cash or digital pots (including locked essentials). We talk needs versus wants without judgement, and we wrestle with the hardest parts: saying no to kids, protecting dignity, and keeping some colour in life when budgets are tight.

What makes the difference is how support shows up: in trusted hubs, face to face, with a pace that respects mental health. Group sessions reduce stigma; one-to-one work builds tailored habits. We hear the wins—members feeling better, regaining control, and even turning a “wants” pot into a buffer that prevents the next crisis. Along the way, we call out the bigger picture: too many people working hard, still forced into impossible choices. Community doesn’t fix policy, but it does restore agency—28 families engaged in one visit when help met them where they are.

If you found this useful, subscribe, leave a review, and share with someone who might need a gentle nudge toward support. Got thoughts, questions, or a story to add? Email [email protected] and come have a brew with us.

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A front room in Crewe, a panting old dog, and a mum of three-year-old twins who can turn one cooked chicken into three meals without breaking the bank. We sit down with Belle to unpack how an £8.50 membership with The Bread and Butter Thing stretches into fresh fruit and veg, pantry staples, and the freedom to try new foods—yes, even ostrich steaks—without fear of waste. The real story isn’t just cheaper groceries; it’s how dignity, choice, and community show up week after week in the queue, at the extras table, and across a neighbour’s fence.

Belle walks us through practical wins: packed flasks with hot home-cooked lunches for nursery, a sensible approach to snacks, and a zero-waste mindset that turns leftovers into casseroles or mild curries the twins love. We dive into OLIO—how volunteers collect surplus food, how pickups work, and why local “help yourself” tables build trust when handled safely. There’s honest talk about the balance in our bags, from giant tubs of mayo to the pickled beetroot divide, and why sharing and swapping are features, not bugs, of a people-first food system.

Between laughter about cold coffee and an Americano with pouring cream, we explore what counts as a luxury when money is tight. Sometimes a £4 coffee is really a ticket to connection—time with a sibling, a breath in a busy week, a small anchor that helps you carry on. If you care about affordable food, community resilience, and simple, practical ways to cut waste without cutting joy, you’ll feel at home here.

Enjoyed the conversation? Subscribe, leave a review, and share this episode with a friend who loves a good food hack. To join a hub or learn more, head to breadandbutterthing.org and follow Team TBB on TikTok, Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn.

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Helen Thornton welcomes us into Hillside High School in Bootle, where the stark reality of educational inequality meets unwavering community spirit. As both a teacher and Bread and Butter Thing volunteer, Helen offers a compassionate, ground-level perspective on the challenges facing students from diverse backgrounds in this vibrant school near Liverpool.

"I've got students who the only hot meal they get is here at school," Helen reveals, before describing how the school has become a lifeline for many families. With over 30 languages spoken and students from Nigeria, the Philippines, Ukraine, and the Middle East, Hillside High embodies the multicultural richness of this port city community. Yet amid this diversity lies a troubling divide between those who have and those who struggle.

What makes this conversation particularly powerful is Helen's practical insights into solutions that work. The school provides free uniforms to all Year 7 students—not just those who ask for help—eliminating stigma while ensuring every child starts secondary school with dignity. They create opportunities for cultural exchange, helping refugee children share their heritage while exposing all students to experiences beyond their immediate environment.

The digital divide emerges as perhaps the most pressing modern challenge. As education increasingly moves online, Helen questions why we expect children to complete digital homework without ensuring universal access to devices and internet connectivity. "Wi-Fi should be free for everybody," she argues, comparing it to essential utilities like water—especially when government services themselves are now "digital by default."

Throughout our conversation, Helen returns to a crucial insight: working families often struggle the most. With rising costs but stagnant wages, parents who are "working harder because they're working" face additional burdens of transportation, childcare, and limited time. It's a sobering reminder that poverty isn't simply about unemployment, but about an economic system that fails to value essential work appropriately.

Join us for this thought-provoking conversation about educational equity, community resilience, and practical solutions that make a difference. Share your thoughts with us at [email protected] or find your nearest hub on our website if you'd benefit from our affordable food club.