Weekly Food Clubs in Marks Gate are at the heart of social cohesion by delivering much needed hope to food insecure households. Our team of volunteers at MGRP frequently engage with food club subscribers to provide money mentoring and mental health support to vulnerable families who often report limited social cohesion and poorer social support.
Weekly Free Hot Food service coupled with a Community Catchup- at the Marks Gate Community Hub to invite the entire community to meet, greet, engage and socialise. A hot meal is a great opportunity for the community to come together whilst their ethnic and socio-economic diversity is valued and deeply appreciated. Several volunteer youth-led activities such as baking, youth sport and board games have helped to remove social or ethnic barriers to integration and give a positive sense of belonging to the youth. Community catchup also helps to welcome new-comers into the Marks Gate area. T. The Community Catch Up over a hot meal has successfully engaged vulnerable and marginalised groups such as youth, refugees, asylum seekers, new-comers to Marks Gate and the already socially-isolated elderly. 61% of regular attendees agree that the community catchup has improved their quality of life and their ability to achieve potential. Community Catchup has also promoted cross-cultural and inter-faith contact by encouraging residents to celebrate their race, religion, gender, sexual orientation, disability and age.