A huge network of voluntary organisations has come together to coordinate and distribute vital food supplies across Birmingham to people who need support at this time. There are over 70 different groups in the food distribution network, including organisations such as the West Midlands Police, The Real Junk Food Project, Birmingham City Council, Age UK, Birmingham Voluntary Service Council and Masjid Al Falaah. As part of the BrumTogether campaign, this network is working collaboratively to distribute an estimated 50 tonnes of excess food each week through foodbanks and deliveries to individuals.
One of the voluntary groups within the network is the North Edgbaston Action Team (NEAT Birmingham) who have been helping deliver food to Birmingham residents in need. Their coordinator and Chairperson, Shahbon Hussain, explained that ‘People are willing to get out and help how they can. The community response has been phenomenal.’
NEAT was established by a group of 7 or 8 individuals in November 2018 in response to violence and a number of gang-related incidents in the local area. They are a voluntary group who carry out regular litter picks and patrol the streets under the Streetwatch scheme to make the local area a safer place to live, work, and travel. NEAT now have around 140 members, with a team of 55 volunteers who take it in turns to do daily patrols in the area.
As group clean-ups aren’t possible at the minute, NEAT have shifted their focus to help people in the community who have been advised to remain indoors. Working with the food distribution network, they have been delivering food parcels to the NHS workers, care homes, vulnerable people, and those who are self-isolating. Their group of around 10-15 dedicated volunteers carry out over 30 deliveries on a daily basis to help those most in need.
Shahbon has been helping deliver food parcels, as well as coordinate volunteers and the distribution of supplies. He has praised the initiative of local and voluntary organisations who have been assisting others from the outset. He explained that ‘it’s unchartered territory, but the response has been amazing. It’s gone from strength to strength.’
Feedback from members of the community that they have helped has been overwhelmingly positive and supportive. Individuals have been very thankful and have praised the essential work that volunteers are doing. One lady told Shahbon ‘you’re doing an amazing job, you’re like the frontline NHS staff that are risking their lives while everyone else in inside’. Shahbon explained that the group see their voluntary work not as a burden, but as an obligation, and that they are part of a collective effort to look after their community and bring people together.
If you want to get involved or find out more about the work of the North Edgbaston Action Team, you can check out their Facebook page. If you would like to help out with food distribution, please fill out this form.
Got a positive story to tell? We’d love to hear from you! We’re really proud of our communities and want to help tell your stories… If you have a positive or uplifting story you want to share, or know of someone who should to be publicly thanked for the work they’re doing, you can do so by posting directly to the BrumTogether Facebook page, through the form here, or by using the hashtag #brumtogether in your public social media posts.
