Tea for Trussell Greenfield event set to welcome Oldham Mayor

Oldham’s Mayor, Councillor Zahid Chauhan, will open a Tea for Trussell fundraiser at the Satellite Centre, Wellington Road in Greenfield on Saturday (July 15).

A small entry fee covers a hot or cold drink and cake, while plants and books will also be on sale at the event, which will get under way at 12 noon.

Tea for Trussell, organised for the second year by Saddleworth Labour Party, will raise funds for the Trussell Trust and collect food for Oldham’s Foodbank.

In 2022, the first Tea donated £650 to the Trussell Trust and collected 10 crates of food that helped Oldham families.

There will again be a food collection for Oldham Foodbank who need support more than ever.

Tins of food, pasta, rice, UHT milk and fruit juice are all needed and can be dropped off at the Satellite Centre between 12 and 3pm.

Parish Councillor Dominic Wall, Labour Campaigner in Greenfield, said: “The Trussell Trust campaigns for an end to food poverty and supports hundreds of foodbanks across the country, including one here in Oldham.

"We hope to beat the total raised last year as, sadly, more people than ever need support from foodbanks here in Oldham and across the UK.

"All the money raised goes to support the work of the Trussell Trust. Please come along and enjoy tea and cake while helping a good cause that supports families in Saddleworth and Oldham.”

The cost-of-living crisis is hitting some Oldham families hard.

Nationally, the Trussell Trust reports that foodbanks distributed nearly 3m emergency food parcels with a third – over 1m – for children in the year to March 2023.

Demand is now higher than during the pandemic lockdowns.

In 2022, Oldham’s Foodbank gave out 8,048 emergency three day food parcels.

The Trussell Trust Chief Executive, Emma Revie, said: “These new statistics are extremely concerning and show that an increasing number of people are left with no option but to turn to charitable, volunteer-run organisations to get by and this is not right.

"The continued increase in parcel numbers over the last five years indicates that it is ongoing low levels of income and a social security system that isn’t fit for purpose that are forcing more people to access food banks, rather than just the recent cost of living crisis or the COVID-19 pandemic. 

"Food banks were set up to provide short-term support to people in an emergency - they are not a lasting solution to hunger and poverty, and more than three quarters of the UK population agree with us that they should not need to exist.” 

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