We paid a visit to Community Engage Foundation, based at St. Ambrose Barlow RC Church in Acocks Green. Located on the border between Yardley and Hall Green, the team at Community Engage Foundation support residents of all ages from both constituencies through the Community Café and Good Food Club. Both activities take place on Thursday afternoons between 2.30pm and 5.00pm.
Community Engage Foundation has its origins in the Places of Welcome networks which formed in Birmingham in 2021 in response to the impacts of COVID-19 and ‘cost- of-living’ increases felt by many vulnerable citizens. In October 2022 the Community Café at St. Ambrose Barlow Church was established, ran by Hayley Houghton and a team of volunteers. In 2024 Community Engage Foundation was established, and by October 2024 they had taken over a food club at the Church previously ran by Family Action, transforming it into the Good Food Club which runs alongside the community café.
For a cost of £1 individuals can join the Good Food Club and pay £5 a box of food worth between £12 and £20 to make up nutritious meals, with a mixture of meat and vegetarian food boxes provided. At the Club on a Thursday, those who attend are also cooked a meal and invited to sit and chat with other attendees, as well as take part in activities such as seated exercise (funded by our colleagues in Yardley NNS), and receive information on initiatives such as ‘Mental Health Awareness Week’.
The Good Food Club is incredibly popular, with between 50 and 55 food boxes handed out per week. On the day we visited we were lucky enough to catch a glimpse of the diversity of the club, with all members of the Hall Green and Yardley community represented at the session. Community Engage Foundation take pride in being an intergenerational, inclusive space for members of the community who are in need, would like to access warm food, or who simply want to get out of the house and meet new people. Hayley and her team ensure everyone who attends is welcomed and eased into the session, “it is great to see how many genuine friendships have formed from the group” she told us.
Hayley, who showed us around and introduced us to volunteers and attendees of the club became involved after taking a break from work due to health. Having previously worked in education and HR, Hayley changed paths after an ME diagnosis, and now finds that running Community Engage Foundation enables her to work around her health, with a dedicated team of volunteers, who represent the diverse backgrounds of club attendees, to help her deliver activities.
In terms of ambitions for the future, Community Engage Foundation are keen to continue to build on the positive partnerships they have established with other organisations across Birmingham to support vulnerable people. The team also have ambitions to obtain an increase of funding to enhance their current provision, and potentially expand into other community activity across more days of the week.
Slingshot