By Paul Jones.

‘I DON’T know how we would have survived without your help…’
It reads like a line from a patient to a doctor, thanking them for their efforts during a serious illness. But in this case, that illness is financial struggle, for the words are from a person helped by the Vale Pantry.
Two years ago, as the Covid pandemic hit the country hard, the Sturminster Newton charity was opened in a bid to provide food for those struggling to make ends meet.
A supermarket of sorts, the Pantry asks shoppers for a donation of £6 each time they visit, in return for access to supplies ranging from fresh produce to cupboard staples.
“We set up after seeing the level of food poverty and deprivation in the area,” said trustee Carole Jones.
Now, the Pantry helps more than 300 families or households, providing a shop worth between £25 and £50 for that requested £6 donation.
Unlike a foodbank, households do not have to be referred to the Pantry. Instead, people can apply to ‘join’ through the group’s website.
“Some come weekly, others are able to manage and come every other week, and some run out of money in the last week before they receive their money, so come once a month,” Carole said. “Some people will simply turn up in desperation. We offer a wide range of fresh foods enabling a healthy, balanced diet, while a foodbank provides a box of ambient products. Our users can choose their own foods in the same way as you would visiting any food store. There are so many types of users – long-term debilitating illness, carers, people with mental health issues, physical and learning disabilities, and people who are homeless.”

Pantry volunteers, from left: Paige Hancock,
Tracey Foster, Caroline Payne and Hayley Lane

In 2017, Conservative MP Jacob Rees-Mogg provoked outrage when he called foodbanks ‘rather uplifting’ and blamed an increase in users of such facilities on the fact ‘people know that they are there’. And other politicians have faced backlash after posing for pictures at facilities like foodbanks, amid outcry they are needed at all.
Carole challenged many of the perceptions people have about support provided by the likes of the Pantry – and those who use them.
“They say ‘people should just get a job’, but pretty much all of those needing help are working or are unable to work at all,” she explained. “In this rural area wages are low, rents are high and it’s just tough to make ends meet.
“A number simply can’t work as they have caring responsibilities or they have long-term debilitating illnesses. A number of our users have fibromyalgia, and two of our users are receiving palliative care, while a number of parents have children with autism or who have high additional needs. There are so many perceptions that are completely wrong.”
The running of an initiative like the Pantry, too, is subject to misconceptions, Carole says, including how it is funded.

“They say ‘people should just get a job’, but pretty much all of those needing help are working or are unable to work”

“People think all of our food is donated – it’s not,” she said. “We currently spend just over £3,000 a week and we have to find this money through user donations – we request the £6 donation on each shop to help towards our costs.
“For each shop, the actual cost to us is about £17. Donations, either one-off or regular monthly standing orders by a number of people in our community, are an area we are desperately trying to build on.
“And literally hours each week are spent on funding bids, it is a relentless task but an essential one. In short, we need to bring in £170,000 a year to do what we do. We do collect end-of-day surplus foods when these are available to us. All the ‘dump’ bins in supermarkets in the surrounding towns are taken by foodbanks.”
In the run-up to Christmas, the Pantry is running a Reverse Advent Calendar to stock up on supplies ahead of Christmas, when demand is expected to increase enormously.
To take part, donors are encouraged to pick up an extra, cut-price item, each day in November, before taking their month’s collection to the Pantry at the start of December. All items are welcome.
For more details, or to apply to become a member, visit valepantry.co.uk.
The Pantry is open
4.30-6.30pm on Wednesdays, 8am-6pm on Thursdays and 8.30am-noon on Saturdays.