Fill the Van (during the Coronavirus)

Fill the Van

Particularly during this time of the Coronavirus we want to be part of extending the hands and heart of Jesus to the city of Manchester and intend to be a church that gives a significant portion of our time, energy and money to reach beyond ourselves and help others. This is a very difficult time for many and we, despite the challenges, do not intend to let up in our desire to serve those most in need.

We are seeking to practically and compassionately respond to the needs of our church & our city by giving much-needed items to others, with a special focus on those families who are facing poverty.

Who we will help 

We intend to create provision packs to give away to the following groups:

• We are working with Manchester City Council to provide food parcels to feed families that they have identified as in need concentrating in the area of Ardwick & Longsight, the neighbours of our church.
• We are receiving referrals from local children’s centres, schools, local councillors & neighbourhood officers to provide essential food & toiletries packages to families.
• Those in Manchester Vineyard who are self-isolating and in need. We already know of a number of you in isolation and, where necessary, we intend to use the van to get the right stuff to you that we’ve collected from others in the church
• Supporting the neighbours/colleagues/friends/family of those in Manchester Vineyard
• Local foodbanks & refuges, many of which we have regularly been serving
• We are serving the workplaces of key workers by providing care packages to support those on the front line.
• We are developing many other networks and contacts that at times like this are asking for support.

How it will work:

We are using a temporary building in Longsight to store & sort food & essential items into provision packs. Our Love Manchester Van is collecting donations & distributing provision packs to those in need. 

We have a number of teams that are working behind the scenes to organise the logistics with the van, teams that are working together whilst socially distancing in their temporary building and teams that are out using our Love Manchester van. These teams work ensuring all PHE advice is followed.

All requests are being processed by emailing here

Please email us here if:

• You’re self-isolating
• You have supplies that you want to donate to the van
• You would like us to drop round provisions for a neighbour/colleague/friend as you’re unable to find certain items in the shop or directly to them (with their consent) if you yourself are currently self-isolating or are unable to drop it to them
• You’d like us to drop ‘Hello! If you are self-isolating due to Covid-19, I can help’ cards or ‘Can you help? Providing for those affected by Covid-19’ cards through your letterbox for you to post to your neighbours. If you’d like the cards in another language let us know as we may be able to help.

Fill the Van 

In terms of donations we will arrange specific collection days and on the day of collection please leave them outside your house in a bag/box and one of the team will collect them. You may be asked to see if you can drop your donation to the doorstep of a specified ’drop off point’ in your area. If we’re picking up donations from your house you’ll be given all the details you need by a team member to ensure a safe pick up.

We are hoping to gather the following items as a priority in this time:

• Pasta
• Rice (dried & microwaveable)
• Oats
• Pasta sauce (jars)
• Long-life milk
• Tinned tomatoes & vegetables
• Tinned beans/lentils/pulses
• Tinned soup
• Tinned curry/chilli/meatballs
• Tinned fish
• Crackers/Crispbread
• Couscous
• Treats – chocolate, sweets, crisps, biscuits etc.
• Toilet roll
• Essential toiletries
• Nappies size 0-6
• Any other non-perishable items

We realise supplies are variable and we’re not encouraging stockpiling but where we can and where it’s sensible we want to buy for others. In a time when we see the bunker mentality, when people are grabbing what they can for themselves, we want to wisely buy a few extra things to give away.

How you can help 

We are looking for you to help in multiple ways:

• Donating food to be picked up by the Love Manchester van (as above)
• Becoming a regular ‘shopper’ to ensure we have enough stock for our food provision packages
• Making up provision packs for a few hours a week in the temporary building 
• Becoming a Van driver, picking up collections & dropping of deliveries to people’s doorsteps
• Becoming a Donations Champion by encouraging neighbours/friends/family/colleagues to regularly donate to the Van
• Becoming a drop off point for the van in order to increase the efficiency of the van

If you are interested in any of the roles above you can sign up here and one of the team will be in touch.

It’s a privilege to be serving those most in need at this time. If you can help in any way we’d love to have you onboard. We’ll keep you updated if any changes need to happen as things develop.

We are constantly reviewing what we are allowed to do in line with government advice and seeking to do all we can in this time.