M.E.N’s Christmas campaign to top out at £28k

The Manchester Evening News’ Christmas campaign supporting a foodbank in their festive appeal is set to top out at over £28,000, thanks to the incredible generosity of our readers and supporters.

We joined forces with Blackley foodbank Humans MCR for the third year in the row this year, to support their Nobody Hungry At Christmas campaign, which delivers festive hampers to people in need across the region.

Across 49 delivery routes, and over 250 addresses, the appeal will reach 1,030 people across Greater Manchester. It’s Humans’ second biggest campaign since its inception in 2019 – and the incredible support of our readers has helped make it possible.

READ MORE: "I spent five hours wrapping Christmas presents for charity - it hurt my back, but warmed my heart"

CEO Lewey Hellewell founded the charity in 2019. He had used a foodbank the year prior, and was determined to create a more human and dignified process for users, so Humans gives clients choice over what they eat, and delivers their parcels in unmarked vans.

They do this all year round, but their efforts peak at Christmas, with hampers stuffed with Christmas dinner ingredients, festive treats, crackers and toys.

The mammoth project has taken weeks of work and planning from founder Lewey and his hard-working team. After a busy weekend wrapping hundreds of presents – and sorting through almost three tonnes of veg – today (December 23) was the day it all came together.

There was an atmosphere of determined but organised chaos as some 20 volunteers worked to put together the boxes of carrots, potatoes and sprouts alongside chocolate logs, selection boxes, defrosting chickens and pigs and blankets.

These were then topped with bags of presents, sealed and shoved