The Bread and Butter Thing

NEW PODCAST: The secret sauce behind connecting communities through food

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Connecting communities through food

Our Impact 2024

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79%

of members say they now
eat more fruit and veg

We support thousands of families each week in over 140 community locations. Volunteers are at the heart of our operation.

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“In April, my husband ended up out of work so obviously we’ve been short of cash. The Bread and Butter Thing has been absolutely fantastic. At the supermarket, it would cost us £130 for the week for all five of us and that’s doing it on a budget. I come here and we get five or six bags for £15 of shopping and we only have to go and get a couple of extra bits then. It’s cut our shopping bill to less than half.”

Sholver Hub Member, Oldham
“I love trying new foods and can now meal plan again.”

Latchford Hub member
“Every week I come and its made a massive difference. Usually I could spend over £100 on shopping just for three people and now I might spend around £30 in a week, and the meals wouldn't be half as healthy as they are. It's not only that, you get to try different things like avocados, which I’ve never had before, and mangoes – different things that you wouldn't generally buy because they are expensive.”

Sholver Hub Member, Oldham
“The money I save here means I can afford to switch my heating on, and that’s the difference it makes.”

Margaret, Tameside
“Part of my job is to give patients the options available around the wider determinants to their health and we should all have access to food that provides a healthy and diverse diet for our physical and mental wellbeing. I first found out about TBBT through a friend and went along to experience it for myself. It’s absolutely phenomenal and a much needed service throughout the area. I especially love that nobody is excluded from gaining access to this service – it’s not means tested and it’s really simple to join.”

Emma Spencer, Social Prescribing Link Worker, NHS
“The bags were amazing. I ended up with so many meals and treats – we even tried new things that we loved as a family.”

Latchford Hub member
"The Bread and Butter Thing has been a brilliant thing for our community. When our first hub location closed, we were determined to keep TBBT here as we were getting so many requests for help. So we formed a special group to manage it out of Westy Community Centre and we’re so pleased we did. The demand for food support locally just keeps growing and TBBT is making a big difference. We’ve hosted a Warm Hub too and it’s been lovely having members come early for a chat and the chance to meet and make friends. There’s a great sense of the community coming together each week."

Naomi Wright, Hub Leader, Westy Community Centre

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Latest from the podcast

‘A Slice of Bread and Butter’ tells the stories of the people that make Bread and Butter what it is and about life in our communities.

Featured

Team Talk: The secret sauce behind connecting communities through food

What happens when affordable food becomes the catalyst for community connection? In the second of our Team Talk podcast mini series, we catch up with some of the seasoned veterans of Bread and Butter to unpick the magic that powers the organisation. Each team member reveals how these hubs have now become extended families.

Team talk: When customer services meets community impact

This week's podcast lands with a bit of a difference. Mark and Vic are joined by a few of our newest team members and of course, Blue Mark's dog, for a noisy sharing of life stories. Captured at our most recent bi-annual gathering, it provides a behind-the-scenes snippet of the magic that can happen when people from all backgrounds discover their calling.

At breaking point: The reality of cutting disability benefits

Ahead of this week's government announcements, Mark and Vic catch up with Kath, who is living with multiple chronic health conditions and the fear of financial ruin if welfare reforms cut her benefits. Together, they talk through the impact of welfare reforms and the toll it all takes on Kath's mental health.

Listen to all episodes

Surplus food is good food

Our award-winning project is created using high quality surplus food that would otherwise go to waste. Surplus happens for all kinds of reasons.

Find out more

News

The latest updates from The Bread and Butter Thing.

Featured

1 Apr 2025

Cream of the crops: Reducing emissions with Riviera

1 Apr 2025

Our partnership with leading vegetable grower, Riviera Produce was always a special one. And now it’s award-winning! Together, we’ve developed a way to collect surplus crops and redistribute to our members, as well as creating a backhaul route to reduce emissions and transport costs.

1 Apr 2025

Why healthy eating shouldn’t be a luxury: A message to the Food Strategy Advisory Board

1 Apr 2025

As the government refreshes its National Food Strategy, we welcome the renewed focus and the calibre of those joining the Food Strategy Advisory Board. Recognising the links between food, health, and sustainability is long overdue. But let’s not ignore the uncomfortable truth: for many, unhealthy food isn’t a lifestyle choice. It’s what’s affordable.

1 Apr 2025

25 Mar 2025

At breaking point: Navigating the reality of the disability benefit cuts

25 Mar 2025

Following the government recent announcements, we catch up with Kath who is living with multiple chronic health conditions and the fear of financial ruin if welfare reforms cut her benefits. Relying on her wife Viv as a full-time carer and Bread and Butter for affordable healthy food, they battle the overly complicated benefits system whilst struggling to eat healthily on a tight budget.

25 Mar 2025

Read all News

Volunteers

We have over 1000 volunteers working with us each week at our warehouse depots and in our community hubs. Their dedication was recognised with the Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service.

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Partnerships

We regularly redistribute over 100 tonnes of food a week. That’s almost 250,000 meals. But’s not just about the food. We work in collaboration with local and national partners to bring in other expertise offering advice and practical solutions for dealing with debt, managing utilities, accessing mental health support, help with housing, employment opportunities and more.

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