A charity handing out free books to food bank users to encourage social mobility has launched in Manchester.
Bookbanks, which opened in early May, is a new initiative which provides reading material every Friday at Manchester Central Foodbank to tackle literary poverty and barriers to reading.
An estimated 620,000 people live in poverty in Greater Manchester, including 250,000 children. Alongside this, 51% of Manchester pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing, and maths compared with 59% nationally.
Reading is a key protective factor against poverty, but one in ten children in England does not own a book.
Bookbanks founding director Emily Rhodes said: “This was our most enthusiastic opening of all sites.
“There was an absolute hunger for books at the Manchester food bank.”
The charity has already distributed more than 5,000 books in London, Norwich, and Norfolk, and plans to expand further in the North.
Emily, also a writer and bookseller, said: “Manchester has a vibrant literary and live poetry scene with a great writing community.
“Unfortunately, there is also a real problem with food insecurity, and there was a local need to make this happen.”
Support poured in from all across the city, with almost £7,000 raised by Manchester-based author Ed Caesar after he ran the Manchester Marathon in aid of the charity.
Ed said: “Books can have a massive impact on people’s lives, and I don’t see any reason why people who use food banks, who might be struggling with their finances, shouldn’t have access to really good books.”
Bookbanks gave out 85 books in one day at the Manchester Central food bank, part of the Trussell Trust Network that supports more than 1,500 people a month.
These books ranged from cookbooks and thrillers to colouring pages and puzzle books.
“Mothers were stocking up on colouring sheets to entertain their children over the Bank Holiday weekend,” said Emily.
“One lady, from Iran, took a toddler’s book and used it to write a glossary of English words in the book with the Farsi translation to build up her vocabulary while she waited for her food parcel.”
Food bank users utilise the provided books in a variety of ways, sparking conversation, connecting with people, and learning new skills.
One man accessing the food bank picked up a book on Gaza, leading him to open up about how he studied international relations in his home country and had a deep interest in politics, but he was forced to leave his library full of 300 books behind.
Another man took a book on meditation to help him “stay calm when things are bad”.
As many can’t afford to buy books on top of daily essential expenses, Emily said receiving them “feels so special and is very welcome”.
The charity plans to begin events showcasing authors and hosting workshops to remove access barriers to literacy in Manchester.
This comes after Manchester City Council launched the Read Manchester campaign in collaboration with the National Literacy Trust to engage more children with literature.
National Literacy Trust senior programme manager in the North West Mike Leyland said: “Our research has shown that when children and young people enjoy reading in their free time, it builds their confidence and wellbeing, as well as boosting their reading skills and aptitude for learning.
“But too many children and young people are missing out on these benefits, with only one in three in the North West enjoying reading in their free time.
“This makes it more important than ever to continue to inspire children to engage with stories and raise literacy levels through Read Manchester, our partnership with Manchester City Council, which works with schools, communities, local businesses, and partner organisations to do just that.
“We gifted 80,000 books last year through hundreds of community organisations, including food banks, and our network of Literacy Champions are active volunteers in our communities, setting up little libraries to increase access to books and engaging families with literacy activities.
“Our recent See Myself in Books project aimed to tackle one of the barriers to reading for enjoyment, which is finding a book that you can relate to and in which you feel represented.”
Emily said: “We love being in Manchester, and we’re very happy to have found such warmth, enthusiasm, and support from everyone.”
Bookbanks welcomes companies, publishers, and individuals to get involved and support the launch through financial donations, book contributions, and volunteer opportunities.
For more information, to donate, or to get involved, visit www.bookbanks.co.uk.
Feature image: Bookbanks.
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