About Bridging the Gap (Manchester)
Financial Inclusion
The driving causes of poverty are complex and varied. Some of our foodbank clients simply need a one off emergency food parcel while they await a job start date, and others require long term support and are unable to afford food on an ongoing basis. We look to provide a service that supports clients out of poverty, whatever their circumstance.
In order to support this mission we launched our Financial Inclusion project in March 2023. This project places a dedicated advisor in each of our weekly foodbank sessions, ensuring our clients are able to speak to a professional about the underlying cause of their need to use the foodbank.
This project was delivered in partnership with the six Trussell affiliated foodbanks across Manchester City Council, together we employ Citizens Advice and Manchester Mind advisers who work across our foodbank sessions.
Our advice workers can support clients with benefits, housing issues and debt, and are able to signpost and support clients with other issues such as energy costs. All of their work aims to maximise income, to move clients out of poverty.
Our end of year reporting showed a whopping £225,914.08 of financial gains for our clients through the first year of this project’s operation.
Because of these amazing results we are delighted to have confirmed grant funding from Trussell until April 2026 for this important project.