Inmates at a Liverpool jail have been arranging their own food bank collections for people living outside of the prison walls.
Prisoners at HMP Altcourse have clubbed together in recent weeks to carry out food collections which have been donated to Fans Supporting Foodbanks. The initiative, which started seven years ago collecting food at Goodison and Anfield Home matches, is one of the largest providers to the North Liverpool Foodbank and runs mobile pantries at six sites across the city.
Dave Kelly, chair of Fans Supporting Foodbanks, told the ECHO that the organisation was contacted about the possibility of inmates making their own donations to help with the cost of living crisis. The first collection was put together from inmates from one wing, but has has more input in recent weeks with more prisoners taking part.
READ MORE: On the frontline battling to feed Liverpool’s ‘food deserts’
The donated food items are purchased from the prison canteen and are bought with inmates' own money, said HMP Altcourse. Fans Supporting Foodbanks collects the food from the prison once a month, and, according to Mr Kelly, the size of the donations is continuing to grow.
Mr Kelly told the ECHO: "Who'd have ever thought that in the sixth richest nation in the world people incarcerated in jail would be collecting food for the public"
“I find it very humbling that people incarcerated serving a sentence in jail are buying food for us people who are on the outside, many of whom haven't got the guarantee of a meal - so they see the bigger picture. Hopefully what they're doing helps their rehabilitation as well.”
Lyndon Noonan, Interim Director at HMP Altcourse said: "Helping 'Fans Supporting Foodbanks' was very close to many of the prisoners' hearts, and they felt it was a great opportunity to be able to give something back to the community.
"Prisoners purchase items via our canteen and donate to the charity once a month. They are supported by a dedicated and passionate member of staff who collects all the items himself and ensures they are ready for collection."
Fans Supporting Foodbanks has seen its operation grow over the course of 2022 and is helping to feed thousands of households each month via its mobile pantries. According to Mr Kelly, 100,000 households have now been fed this year via the scheme which operates sites in Walton, Toxteth, Netherley, Fazakerley, West Derby and Vauxhall.
However the food poverty campaigners have faced a more challenging landscape over the last month due Premier League break for the World Cup, something which Mr Kelly describes as “disaster” for collections. The initiative gains the bulk of its donations from Everton and Liverpool home matches, but neither team has been in action since early November while the showpiece event in Qatar took place.
Mr Kelly says the scheme had to become more imaginative, with ex-LFC stopper Chris Kirkland helping out with donations in return for children attending his own coaching sessions. A large collection of food also came as a result of the Christmas tractor parade held in support of Alder Hey children’s hospital earlier this month.
Speaking about how the cost of living crisis is also impacting general donations, Mr Kelly said: “Over the seven years we've been going, in times of adversity, people have always stepped up to the plate. We certainly couldn't do what we do without people being as generous as they are.
"But people who would regularly turn up and make donations of three, four five bags of shopping are now only giving one or two. We've always tried to instil the idea of one fan bringing one can, and just before we closed for the world cup games I was astonished at the amount of young people going the match [and donating] a tin of soup out or a tin of beans. The number of individuals donating has increased but the donations might not be as big.”
With the organisation rolling over the 100,000 mark in terms of households fed, Mr Kelly sees this as an example that “community spirit is alive and kicking on Merseyside”, but knows even tougher times might be ahead as inflation climbs and the energy price cap will rise considerably next year.
Mr Kelly added: “Everyone knows what's coming. We're going to experience things that none of us have ever experienced in the weeks and months ahead. Once that cap is lifted, it doesn't bear thinking about.”
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