A Slice of Bread and Butter
The voice of The Bread and Butter Thing - with stories from the frontline of the cost of living crisis from one of the UK's leading food charities.
A Slice of Bread and Butter
Transforming Homes and Lives with Ellen and Katie
The Bread and Butter Thing has become so much more than just food since it's launch in 2016. So much so, that our hubs have become the perfect space for other like-minded organisations to reach our members. Join Mark and Becca as they chat to Ellen and Katie from Your Home Better as they share how simple home improvements can help stretch budgets and improve health.
Welcome to A Slice of Bread and Butter with Mark and Becca from the Bread and Butter Thing.
Speaker 2:I'm the Partnership Coordinator for the North West Region.
Speaker 1:We're a charity that delivers affordable food to the heart of deprived neighbourhoods to help nourish communities and act as a catalyst for change.
Speaker 2:We offer a nutritious range of food at deeply discounted rates, which means our members can save money on their shopping, feed their families healthily and also access other support too, right in the heart of their communities.
Speaker 1:And that's kind of what you do, right? So this is the place where we meet and share a slice of life with somebody that's involved in bread and butter and hear about how we connect with them and how they connect with us. And I wanted to talk to you today because we had one of the service providers in that you had brought to our attention and brought into some of our hubs. But before we do, how do you do that? Why do you do that? Why does it matter?
Speaker 2:so we work with external partners you weren't kidding when you said you were nervous I told you, clammy, we work with external partners who offer different types of support outside of food to provide our members with a more holistic approach to support, because people who are facing food insecurity probably have some other things going on as well, and we use member surveys that we do to sort of inform where we can help those members. And then myself and Annie up in the northeast we have a look at who's as local as possible and work out how we can work with them to provide in-person support to our members. So it's accessible, it breaks down barriers, it builds relationships and trust and that's the most engaging way to help these people access what they're offering.
Speaker 1:So do you think it matters face to face?
Speaker 2:Massively so. People would like to be able to work out who they're engaging with and who they're speaking to, and that's before you even get into the fact that some of our members are digitally excluded and can't navigate the internet to find what support they might need and what's available to them. But generally, just having a conversation with someone face to face is so important because you can see how much they care and see how much they want to be able to help you, and you can explore all the different possibilities and opportunities that there might be that you might not be able to do just on your own.
Speaker 1:So how do we find people to come in and help? Do they come to us? Do we go out to them?
Speaker 2:We will reach out to people. Especially when we're sort of expanding into new areas, we'll see what's going on and then we will start to meet people and we will go to network meetings. And when we go out to the hubs we'll find some people are already there and it's just like how we can work with them to oh, and take them elsewhere.
Speaker 1:Right, and take them elsewhere.
Speaker 2:And show them what else is in their community, but also how we can create the best and biggest impact, how we can tell our members about, instead of just sticking leaflets in the bags. How we can yeah, get them to all these different places where our members are so we've done a couple of episodes with a couple of cddos sue and jenny yeah and they're right at both of them.
Speaker 1:But I also know that you're kind of a secret cddo as well, so when the proverbial hits the fan, you also get on the vans as well. So what's that like? Yeah, no, it's great and the best bit about my job as long as it's not raining right as long as it's not raining yeah, somehow always catches me, but yeah, we will.
Speaker 2:It's. The best bit of the job is is going out and getting to meet the volunteers and speak to the members and be able to see each individual hub and how it works and and everything, but yeah. And then when we get service providers out, the feedback's always the same how amazing it is and everything, but yeah. And then when we get service providers out, the feedback's always the same how amazing it is to get out there and see these people and meet these people and see the, the work that's going on in these, like little ecosystems that people have built drives me nuts when?
Speaker 1:so it's such an easy answer, isn't it? Just when everybody asks service providers just like? You know what? We've got like 50 to 100 people all coming at exactly the same time every week. Just come along and talk to them and that face-to-face engagement, and afterwards it's like it's like a eureka moment for them. It's like, oh my god, you're right, it's so easy, it's just just come into the community and the engagement is so much easier.
Speaker 2:No letters, no emails, no phone calls, just come and have a chat yeah, we always tell people you don't need to bring like a banner and a table and all of the above. Sometimes it can be as simple as just sort of grabbing a brew and sitting and having a conversation with people. Because once you've started a conversation or sparked a chat with one of our members, it's crazy how quickly they'll start telling you some stuff and from from there you can sort of work out do they need this or can we do that for them? And it comes a lot more naturally than someone having to approach you at a table that has a massive sign above it that's like come get help here, because that's not welcoming or friendly and can be quite scary. So, especially with, like big brew times, we can just come sit at a table, have a brew and have a chat with members like you introduced me to your home better yes and I keep getting that name wrong, but I got it right smack on that time, which was great.
Speaker 1:So tell me about how we got involved with them gmca are currently doing the leadED project. Greater Manchester Combined Authority.
Speaker 2:Yes, they are currently working on the LEED project and there has been funding in every borough of Greater Manchester to provide the service that your Home Better are providing in terms of retrofitting, improving homes, energy efficiency and in turn, then reducing sort of energy bills and your Home Better is the delivery partner for Salford Trafford and in turn, then reducing sort of energy bills, and your Home Better is the delivery partner for Salford Trafford and Stockport. We were introduced to them and then we have worked with them and other delivery partners in other boroughs of Greater Manchester who do the same thing and are offering the same thing to bring the support that they're offering to our members.
Speaker 1:Okay, well, I had a chat with them, so let's have a listen to that, and then we'll pick up from there. Perfect.
Speaker 3:I'm Kate, kate Whitten. I work on the Feel the Benefit campaign, I'm the community engagement manager for your Home Better, and I'm with my colleague Elle today.
Speaker 4:Yeah, I'm Helena Mason. I'm the Community Engagement Assistant for your Home Better.
Speaker 1:Welcome, and what is your Home Better?
Speaker 3:So your Home Better is. It's like an independent advice organisation, so I'm already getting it wrong, aren't I?
Speaker 1:Because I said your Home Better, it's your.
Speaker 4:Home Better, isn't it? A lot of people do that.
Speaker 3:I think it's a northern thing, people just automatically are like it's your home, yeah, your home. Better, it's an independent advice service on retrofitting, basically home improvements. Go on, elle Wells.
Speaker 4:It's kind of a one-stop shop, isn't it? Yeah, so things like insulation, new boilers, upgraded doors and windows, heat pumps, solar panels, anything like that.
Speaker 1:You give people support in finding the right quotes, the right costs and financial support. Is there any?
Speaker 4:so we're currently working on the feel, the benefit campaign, which is financial aid and grant money to do those home improvements. So if you're a homeowner or private tenant, we are coming out with a. It's a short questionnaire we do with people to see if they qualify and that's a really interesting one.
Speaker 1:Private rented is the space that tends to get overlooked for a lot of advice and support, isn't it because?
Speaker 3:we have a lot of members that are private renting.
Speaker 1:If somebody that was one of our members came to you and they live in a private rented house, how do they actually manage to get retrofit?
Speaker 4:so the first thing we do is take them through the short questionnaire to see if they qualify, and what that does is it not only looks at like their personal details in terms of how much they might earn or any health conditions they have, but it looks at like the quality of the house they're in. Already and we've actually noticed with some properties, even though it's a legal requirement to have an energy performance certificate, some landlords are not following that.
Speaker 3:Yeah, don't necessarily have one. But yeah, we want to be able to give that extra advice and support on that as well. And if people are eligible for any work, then of course we bring the landlord in on that as well. It's kind of a big conversation between all three parties.
Speaker 1:But you kind of facilitate that, do you?
Speaker 3:Yeah.
Speaker 1:I mean that three-way conversation can be super complicated for our members particularly.
Speaker 4:Absolutely so. That's why we recommend do the questionnaire to see if you qualify. If you do qualify, great, then we'll bring the landlord into that conversation and the landlord really shouldn't have any issue with these same improvements because it ultimately in the day will save the tenant money and ultimately make their property better. So it's kind of a win-win really for everyone. Yeah, there's no there's no risk of like doing the questionnaire just to see if you qualify and if you don't, your landlord's not going to find out about it. There's no.
Speaker 1:It kind of goes no further, really, once you don't qualify, so that's it so tell us what you do with bread and butter and how we engage and how you reach our members yeah, absolutely so.
Speaker 3:When we first started the project, we were just looking out for any events we could go to and literally wanted to reach out to as many people as possible, because I mean community engagement. You wouldn't think it would be that hard than you think, right, but it is.
Speaker 3:It's so much harder than you think. So, finding the right people to talk to. As I say, get into events if you don't run your own events. And when Elle and I finally realized how big Bread and Butter was, we were like, wow, we could really reach out and really connect with a lot of different people. So we literally just said, yeah, can we come to some events, see how it goes, talk to people about these free home improvement grants, be there to support as well, if necessary. We've been to lots of places, haven't we? Elle?
Speaker 4:Yeah, the nice thing is is that obviously the bread and butter's like main focus is reducing food waste and ours is mainly reducing carbon.
Speaker 4:But also like the cost of running a home, so it's that venn diagram of sustainability right exactly different aspects it's kind of getting to say to people like you're reaching out for this type of help with the cost of food bills and stuff fantastic, you know there's other help out there. And a lot of people say to us like, oh, I just never even thought that I could get like insulation done on my house for free, but it's, you know, it's there the help is here.
Speaker 1:I really just want people to get it. We really like to translate this stuff into human stories, so do you have any particular stories about any of our members and how you engaged and the journey they've been on?
Speaker 3:we were at I think it was Flickston, and there was a lady came up and just said oh, I've had a few sort of issues. How do we get past this? You know, I'm not entirely too sure what to do within my home now that we've had the installers contact us. So it's just kind of working out those issues, if there are any, or just again just reassuring people that we're there on the end of the phone or they can email us as well. We have been to other events where we've had people come back and said, yeah, I've got loads of stuff, you know, so loads of things. So not just one measure, but multiple measures as well which is fantastic.
Speaker 4:Like you know, he's been retired. You know he's never had anything done for free, you know never really had any kind of state help, but he's getting loft insulation, cavity wall insulation, new boiler and it was like he just couldn't believe the amount of help he was getting.
Speaker 1:And I don't think people understand just how much that can actually reduce.
Speaker 4:Oh no. The likelihood is is that people just have no idea, like actually what is in their loft and like how that can affect how much heat you're keeping in. Is your property actually keeping that heat inside? And the likelihood is no, unfortunately not. It's also just giving people the information and explaining what an EPC is like an energy performance certificate and how that can actually.
Speaker 1:Glad you said that because I didn't have a scoop. Yeah, we were going to come to that. And how that can. Actually Glad you said that because I didn't have a scoop. Yeah, we were going to come to that.
Speaker 4:Yeah, honestly, before I started working with your home better, I had no idea. And I was looking at some of my old properties that I've lived in. No wonder my energy bills were so high, no wonder I never felt warm. I remember one winter I had ice on the inside of my window. It's like how many people are living like that and they have no idea that there's actually stuff we can do to kind of improve it?
Speaker 1:for free right. So there's help and support out there that you guys give we like people like you coming in piggybacking on the back of us to kind of come and talk, because people miss that thing of advice and support being in their community yeah, that's it, and it's kind of like it's trying to be more of a holistic approach as well.
Speaker 3:So there are so many things that we can link on to that as well, so we can pass on to councils as well and trying, as I say, find the right person for that. Nobody really knows that this project is out there. It's started now. The ball is rolling, there's a big campaign out there. You're starting to see it on billboards and buses and it is the word is getting out there.
Speaker 4:But again, initially it was literally, you know, face-to-face people going out there, people just don't always kind of assume that they're not the one that the help is aimed at yeah a lot of people we speak to go like oh, I won't qualify for anything.
Speaker 4:You know I'm a homeowner, I own this much. It's like that's not going to cut you out necessarily and even if you don't qualify for the main home improvement grants, you can still get a free retrofit assessment where you can have that space to ask an expert. All those questions about okay, do I need to do more insulation? Is a heat pump actually worth me getting? What's the steps to kind of reducing my energy bills?
Speaker 1:so the goal, the rule is if you don't ask, you don't get that's exactly it.
Speaker 3:Yeah, so definitely ask. Don't feel shy about asking, because you know these schemes are out there. I mean, we've got to use this funding up by march of 2025, so if we don't allocate the funds, it's going to go back to the government. So we want, we want to, we ideally, we want to allocate every single penny so becca and I will try our best to help you spend it amazing please, please do.
Speaker 3:And if we had a penny for every time anybody said I'm never going to be eligible, I I'm not going to qualify, we'd probably be able to retire and you never know, there are lots of different routes into the actual grant funding scheme, so it's worth checking for 10 minutes of your time and you guys hold their hand through the process which is the bit that's really important to our members.
Speaker 4:Yeah, absolutely yeah. You know, we can always get. People can get back in touch with us, you know, say they're not quite sure what the installer was talking about or they want to double check things. Or the worst feeling in the world is like not knowing what someone's talking about but feeling too shy to ask like, ok, can you explain that? Because we understand that, like people have jobs and lives and you know you don't have time to research all the different insulation measures and figure out if it applies to your house, you're living a life you don't want to okay, so I'm going to drop two questions on you.
Speaker 1:The first one is typically how much do you think people save when they've retrofitted their homes?
Speaker 3:and the second one is what's the most you know that anyone's actually saved on their bills it does depend, because every house is also different, so it's people's circumstances plus the home as well. So you kind of chuck that together, mix it all up, put details into this questionnaire and then it kind of spits out the answer.
Speaker 1:So is it kind of the older the house, the more opportunity there is.
Speaker 3:A hundred percent, yeah, generally speaking. So anybody in a new build, they probably wouldn't be eligible, wouldn't qualify, because new builds are up to a certain spec, a certain standard. So anybody in a I mean 1920s, 1930s- house.
Speaker 4:They're not going to be very energy efficient. I mean 1920s, 1930s house. They're not going to be very energy efficient.
Speaker 3:They're like, oh, I've had my boiler for like oh, 50, 60 years now and it's like, oh my gosh, okay, let's get you a new one of those, please, even if it has lasted, you know, trying to find the parts for it, and the fact is that boilers have come on a heck of a long way as well, so it's like get yourself an energy efficient boiler.
Speaker 1:Get yourself a triple a rated if you guys are like the kind of carbon geeks of home pretty much I.
Speaker 4:It's gotten to the point now my friends don't want to talk to me about my job anymore.
Speaker 1:Okay, so is there anything else that you think people listening to the podcast would want to know about what you do?
Speaker 4:so you can find us on social media. We've got facebook, twitter linkedin type in your home better, and we should come up not your homes, your home, that's your home better.
Speaker 4:Okay if you want to just have a look at our website and see what options there are, it is just simply again, your home, better our website and the questionnaire. If people are just interested in, straight to the questionnaire just to see if they qualify for their home, it's just a retrofit portal. If you type that in on google, it should bring it up and it's part of the gmca project there's also lead at yourhomebettercouk, so an email address that people can email.
Speaker 3:We pick those, those emails up so we can reply back to people as well. And again, yeah, just the inquiry forms on your home better website so people can just go on there and ask us anything.
Speaker 1:Really brilliant thank you very much for that.
Speaker 3:Thank you, thank you.
Speaker 1:So that was Katie and Eleanor Brilliant, really positive, proper geeks on this stuff. That's a really big challenge for me because it is trying to get a human story out of this, but every life they touch and everything it is super important to us.
Speaker 2:So tell us what they've done, tell us where they've been. Yeah, so they are the delivery partners for the lead project in Salford and Trafford where we are. So we've had them out 22 times so far to all nine hubs across Trafford and our St Peter's hub in Salford in in Swinton how were they received?
Speaker 2:yeah, they are honestly the feedback we've had about them and seeing it in person as well. They are super engaging with our members. They don't go in straight away with the home installation and retrofitting and the stuff. That is not language that our members are necessarily familiar with. It's not language I was familiar with before.
Speaker 1:I met them, so at the end of the podcast they were giving me advice on my own home.
Speaker 2:So but you can't just go into a conversation with that because, yeah, eyes do glaze over. Sometimes they'll spark up conversations. They've got their own little pieces of rock that say your home better on them.
Speaker 1:That's one way to get people oh my god, they did not bring any of that.
Speaker 2:I did not know that we'll have to get you some york on better rock right ellen.
Speaker 1:Katie cards marked you didn't bring sweets they should know better.
Speaker 2:Um, but yeah, so they've got all these little things where they'll get people over and then they'll start having a conversation about. This is what it is, but also what that can look like. Explaining it a little bit more they are super engaging, really warm, friendly people who are just really easy to speak to, which is probably why they've managed to have 788 conversations so far so that's impressive.
Speaker 1:Are they face to face or are they on the phone or both?
Speaker 2:that's currently all face to face wow yeah, that's conversations at our hubs with our members, and or both. That's currently all face to face.
Speaker 1:Wow, yeah, that's conversations at our hubs with our members and anyone else that's walked past yeah, and I suppose that then turns into projects and grants and all the rest of it yeah, so they'll offer the portal, which is how people can find out what they're eligible for.
Speaker 2:They've got 83 people through the portal, so they're people who they've worked out are eligible for the grants and the different offers that they've got, and then they've helped them in person get through that portal.
Speaker 1:So if there was any issues or any confusion, okay, so they've done it there, and then sort of thing do it there and then at the hub on one of their tablets that is exactly what's needed, isn't it right so that face-to-face and for digitally insecure, should we say, people that don't really know what's going on with a life admin? That's bloody brilliant yeah there.
Speaker 2:And then you don't have to leave the hub thinking I've got to do this, it's in a time you've already dedicated to coming and collecting your food. You can leave knowing it's already done. The checklist is ticked like there's nothing else you need to do right.
Speaker 1:So really warm, pleasant, engaging human beings really technically knowledgeable and massively supportive, and holding people's hands through the entire process of what, let's be frank, is a bloody boring process yeah, I can't imagine it's fun yeah, what an amazing team yeah, really excited to have them coming back in the summer.
Speaker 2:Um, they've got their new advice van. That is extremely colorful and I don't think anyone will be able to miss it.
Speaker 1:Um, I've heard it's colorful, I heard it's. It's not fully kitted out inside yet, but they're super excited about it. Yeah, and they did tell me. So I'm glad you mentioned it, because they did say please mention it because we forgot to yeah, and I'm excited to have it at the hubs.
Speaker 2:It'll be nice for them to have some extra space. Especially in the summer it'll be outside, so fantastic.
Speaker 1:So if you'd like to know more about the bread and butter thing and what we get up to, just like ellen, katie and everything that's going on there, then find us at Team TBBT on Instagram and Twitter or LinkedIn, or online at breadandbutterthingorg.
Speaker 2:And if you have any feedback or thoughts on the podcast, you can get in touch with us by email at podcast at breadandbutterthingorg.
Speaker 1:Lastly, we're always open to new members at all our hubs, so if you or someone you know would benefit from our food scheme, then you can find your newest hub on the members page of the website and please do all the things that podcasts ask you to do.
Speaker 2:Like us, subscribe, leave us a review, share us with your friends and chat about us on social brilliant tar for that chuck cheers See you again.
