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The Five Loaves and Two Fishes Project

The ministry started giving out a dozen food parcels a week in the early 1990's

They now give out nearly 300 food parcels a week

The volunteers sort, stack and hand out all the parcels

Along with food they also hand out toiletries and other essentials

No questions are asked, only that people only take what they need

Donations make up the bulk of the parcels but the ministry also buys in items when needed

The volunteer team work on a rota covering different tasks around the ministry

Sister Teresa and Sister Rosie

The main delivery of food arrives on a Tuesday morning

Crates of canned goods are loaded into the cellar storage

Until recently the only access was a flight of stairs. A lift has now been fitted

Andy runs the store room keeping it organised and well stocked

Items are sorted and stacked by categories and shelf life

Andy started volunteering after having to retire through ill health

Even at full capacity the store room only holds a few weeks worth of parcels

"I have an amazing team of volunteers from all walks of life...you find Christ in so many people" Sister Theresa

The Community of the Sisters of the Church

St Paul's, Bristol, December 2021

The ministry, home to Sister Theresa Mary and Sister Rosie, is on Ashley Road across the northern edge of St Paul's. The immediate area's relative poverty - it has been ranked in the 10% of most deprived of local authorities in the UK for over a decade - is in stark contrast to neighbouring Cotham, Redland, and St Andrew's. The Sisters have been a part of local community here since the early 1990s. They named the ministry 'The Five Loaves and Two Fishes Project' and started handing out food parcels to those in need and what began as a dozen a week has grown to nearly 300 today. Unlike food banks there is no process of referral, anyone is free to accept a parcel and no questions are asked.

Like many areas of the city a combination of soaring private rent, lack of social housing, and affordable homes has meant that household finances are stretched more than ever. Many of the visitors to the ministry are in some kind of employment but stuck between making enough money to lift them out of benefits but not enough to always make ends meet. Access to many food banks still requires a referral and studies have shown that the majority of users experience stigma and embarrassment. The ministry's policy of providing a food parcel to anyone that asks for one, without question, can help overcome those stigmas.

Visitors enter off Ashley Road into the small courtyard outside of the ministry. Collections are made through a large sash window, the room behind fitted out with shelves from floor to ceiling to store goods. Staples such as toiletries are included in the parcel and while you can't pick and choose every item the volunteers ensure that dietary requirements are respected and needs are met. At the end of December they also prepare hundreds of Christmas meal parcels to hand out. The team of volunteers carry out all the roles - packing the parcels, handing them out, making tea. Sister Theresa Mary and Sister Rosie also provide a safe space for local women, a prayer room and a secluded quiet garden.

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