'I volunteer at the foodbank that helped me'

A woman who began volunteering at a foodbank that "got us through a very difficult time" says it is her way of "giving back".

Lisa Parkinson started working for the Big Food Project in Blackpool after using the service when she was diagnosed with stage three breast cancer during the Covid-19 pandemic.

She said her husband gave up his job to look after her and they had two children who could not go to school clubs as they were isolating. "Things became quite difficult because we still had bills to pay."

The project is a redistributor of surplus food from supermarkets and manufacturers to 125 foodbanks, schools, community kitchens, crisis services and families across Blackpool, Fylde and Wyre.

Founder Neil Reid said the service put out 17,600 meals from its warehouse last week.

Ms Parkinson works from Blackpool FC on a Tuesday, where she said the charity supplies 50 to 60 families each week.

She said she started visiting the club venue as a foodbank user when she came out of isolation for her cancer treatment. "I thought, 'I don't want to have to do this,' thinking they'll judge me, everybody will be thinking, 'oh, she does nothing'.

"But they made me feel so welcome, invited me in, we had a cup of tea and I relaxed because there is a stigma about using foodbanks."

"The good thing about the food project is that you pay £8 but you get four bags, so it was an amazing service because we felt like we were paying for it, but getting a lot more than if we went to the supermarket," she said.

Ms Parkinson, who has been cancer free for five years, said the project "helped us a lot. It was amazing".

"It was 100% there for us when we need it," she said. "It was hard enough going through all the treatment as well as having two children, it was a massive, massive help and it got us through a very difficult time."

She said it makes her "sad" to see people who are working full-time, or pensioners struggling to pay for food.

"People will say to us 'oh, it's a lifesaver'," she said. "And even someone we gave tea bags to said 'I've not had a cup of tea for a week now, I couldn't justify paying for tea bags for myself '.

"I know people are still in this situation nowadays and it's really a sad time.

"They get excited over a bottle of shampoo or a bottle of nice shower gel.

She said she had been volunteering at the project for three-and-a-half years, which "is my way of giving back, they helped me through a very dark time, and now I feel as though it's my time to be able to help and give back".