By John Baron
A lifeline West Leeds organisation providing food and activities for people in need is marking its fifth birthday with an appeal for more support.
The Nigerian Yorkshire Communities Network operates from a small, busy office in the Carlton Trading Estate in Armley.
The office houses fridges and freezers holding food for people of all backgrounds who are struggling to support themselves.
The project is run entirely on the goodwill of volunteers and is the brain child of founder and president Jayes Kolawole, who donates his time for free following a career as a manager in the gas and oil industry.
The idea for the project came to Jayes while he was in his Bramley home during lockdown in the Covid pandemic. He approached Aldi supermarket in Bramley for donations and the project hasn’t looked back since
“I just wanted to give something back to the community,” Jayes said. “During lockdown I saw families who were struggling to eat, and the cost of living crisis means people are still truggling to pay bills, rent and feed their families.
“People can’t put three square meals a day on the table for their family.
“We are all volunteers here, but this is my passion. I want to help people, to help the community and offer support to as many families suffering hard times as possible, irrespective of background or ethnicity.”
On a busy week 30-40 families rely on the food bank – and Jayesis anticipating a surge of people needing help over the Christmas period.
The project is preparing to offer vouchers to help some of society’s most vulnerable people through Christmas. It also offers a variety of activities through the Healthy Holidays programme at Easter and during the summer, this includes trips out, meals, free swimming and other activities.
Volunteers are busy putting together a special Christmas party. More details here.
The organisation is appealing for urgent support with staffing costs and repairing a broken down delivery van. They’re appealing for donations and funders so they can continue and expanc their work.
New members are also always welcome. Contact admin@nycn.org.uk for more information.
The network aims to tackle both food poverty and food waste from supermarkets. Its partners include Hamara, Neighbourly, Leeds Community Foundation, FareShare and the council, along with local supermarkets and businesses.
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