We are still running our 'click and collect' bakery for local people weekly. Malcolm is an organiser of the West Kirby Farmers Market, and we have got that up and running again, outdoors, with November and December markets confirmed (www.westkirbyfarmersmarket.co.uk ).

In November we ran our "lockdown sourdough bread class", with a new set up to meet covid requirements. It went off well, and while not quite as co-operative as before, there was still plenty of spontaneous interaction and conversation. New courses are running on Feb 20th and April 10th.

Our loaves from last weeks click & collect:

A 100% rye with chopped grain; a wholewheat with oatmeal; a seeded light wheat mix; a white baguette

Little Eye Lockdown Bakery

We have got a weekly bake going, of about 40 loaves for neighbours and local self-isolated people.

And over the last 2 weeks have run Little Eye Live classes on Zoom for up to 15 people, starting their own sourdough and making a loaf. Some very good loaves produced, along with a few more varied - but all tasting good!

 

And we have donated 50p per loaf from our weekly lockdown bake (plus donations from shoppers), totalling almost £200 up to April 25th. We got a nice letter back the week before:

Hello Malcolm, Deborah and friends at Little Eye Sourdough Bakery

On behalf of Wirral Foodbank, I would like to thank you for your recent very kind donation of £130 to us. Thank you also for Gift Aiding the donation, enabling us to reclaim the tax paid on the money.

We are still extremely busy at the moment, as people of Wirral are surpassing themselves by donating food in supermarkets as they shop, and also by sending us cheques and making online donations. Our main worry was that we may start having less food available to us as I believe that the coronavirus has meant some foods will be in short supply. However we seem to be able to access most items at the moment. We are concerned about the fact that many churches have closed for the time being and they are one of our main donating groups. However, many church members, other individuals and local agencies have been finding alternative ways to donate to us, which has enabled us to carry on supporting local families as much as possible.

Our new group of volunteers has made a big difference to our volunteer force, with us having taken on over 100 new volunteers over the past 12 months. Many of these have been helping at the Wirral Food Hub, of which we are a part. We are sending them several tons of food each week that they then distribute to people in isolation.  We hope our fantastic volunteers continue to come along each week, despite their own concerns about becoming ill.

We just want to thank you particularly for your very generous support to us. It is very much appreciated.


Kindest regards

Liz Appleby
Office Manager and Volunteer Co-ordinator
Wirral Foodbank
Unit 14, Wirral Business Centre
Dock Road,
Birkenhead
CH41 1JW

Lockdown Baking Update

Our last bread class in March seems an age away now. But we will be back in late summer/autumn, so do let us know if you want to be alerted to future dates.

 In the meantime, Malcolm has been baking for a local lockdown bread club, made up of friends, neighbours and people who may be a little isolated. Our Easter fruit loaf was a hit, and we are making a small but varied range of breads each weekend. If you live locally in West Kirby, you may be able to join the club, depending on numbers, so do email.

We are also trialling on online Sourdough for Beginners event, this Easter week in April. If that works, we will offer that out more widely. Let us know if you are interested!