In the recent weeks of England’s third national lockdown amid the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, 14-year-old Chorlton High School pupil Rob has been lending a hand at his town’s local foodbank to do all that he can to help feed some of the most vulnerable people in his wider community at a time when they truly need it more than ever.
The Year 10 student has not only been praised by the foodbank’s owners and those who know him, but also by hundreds of members of the Greater Manchester public too after he took it upon himself to put together some food parcels for families and individuals assisted in need.
Rob has collected food donations from his neighbours in West Didsbury, and from his Grandparents neighbours in Heaton Chapel too.
ADVERTISEMENT
In total, this “amazing young man” has put together 40 pre-packed and ready-to-go food parcels.
Barakah Food Aid’s social media post shining a light on Rob’s incredible efforts last week has since received an overwhelmingly positive response, with hundreds of interactions and shares helping to spread the word, as well as comments from people commending his selflessness and expressing how wonderful it is to see the community’s young people striving to make a difference.
ADVERTISEMENT
He has been named “a credit to himself, his school and his community”, an “absolute superstar”, and “a remarkable young man” all by members of the public choosing to pile on the praise.
Chorlton High School also commented: “Well done Robert. Very proud to have one of our own making a difference in the community.
“Keep up the good work everyone.”
ADVERTISEMENT
And Barakah Food Aid owner Manzoor Ali was keen to say a special thank you to Rob “and all those who’ve supported you in this”.
Barakah Food Aid was established in 2009 by husband and wife duo, Manzoor and Aiysha Ali, alongside their three children, Asim, Zahra and Abdul-Rehman, and was set up “to help those in need of food in our local communities”.
Manzoor and Aiysha were first the friendly faces behind former curry business Barakah Foods – which was launched from their own kitchen in Whalley Range, before going from strength to strength and eventually moving into its own premises on Barlow Moor Road in Chorlton – with Barakah Food Aid being launched alongside the business to help Manchester’s homeless and those living on the breadline.
But in August of 2018, the family decided to bid a fond farewell to their food business in order to put their full focus on their community work.
Barakah Food Aid may be based in South Manchester, but it is “willing to assist wherever we can”.
ADVERTISEMENT
And this is a sentiment that has never been more powerful than over the past 11 months of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, where ongoing restrictions, sector closures and subsequent economic struggles have meant that more people have relied on, or required the use of foodbanks than ever before.
A report by charity The Trussell Trust – which runs a network of 1,300 foodbank centres across the UK – last November confirmed a 47% increase in support needed during the pandemic, with a record 1.2 million emergency food parcels being handed out in the first six months.
From April to September of 2020, more than 470,000 of the food parcels were delivered to children, which on average came to around 2,600 every day.
“We don’t do what we do for any attention in anyway.” Manzoor Ali tells us.
“But if what we do encourages others to lookout for their neighbours, then that’s our job done.
ADVERTISEMENT
“It’s been a difficult 11yrs+ of doing what we do, but the last year has been off the scale, and mentally it’s really tested us [so] we feel so mush for those with diagnosed mental health issues and we can’t begin to imagine what they’re going through.”
He continued: “As a group, we sometimes feel that we’re part of the problem, but we want to be part of the success, and success will only be acknowledged when we our service is no longer needed [and] when foodbanks are shut.
“Until then, it feels like we’re just not doing enough, and much more needs to be done in order to bring foodbank numbers down.
“A society where registered foodbanks outnumber McDonalds restaurants, is a society that’s failing.”
___
ADVERTISEMENT
Can you help Barakah Food Aid help the local community by donating non-perishable food items, or even your volunteer time?
You can call 07506 527523, or email [email protected] to find out more.
And don’t forget to keep up to date with all of the latest Barakah Food Aid updates throughout the duration of lockdown and beyond on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram as well.
Feature
Vanilli’s – the Manchester bakery and dessert spot that has carried on the tradition of an old Italian favourite
Danny Jones
Vanilli’s Cake Company is one of those names whose reach extends far and wide, with a history that goes way back into the past, and a deeper Greater Manchester heritage than you can imagine.
It’s one almost as rich as the desserts they’ve been making across the city centre and beyond for decades, but it also begins back in Italy.
Formerly San Marco Products, a fellow cult-favourite bakery, suppliers and catering company from way back, owner Sapna Kumar took over their old premises on Crown Industrial Estate over in Ancoats more than six years ago, and has been carrying on their sweet treat traditions ever since.
The difference these days is that it’s gone from more of an Italian ‘pasticceria’ to a Mancunian bakery with both local and Indian roots.
Born out of pregnancy cravings ahead of her third child, ironically, Vanilli’s Cake Co. went from an unfortunately timed passion project conceived on the cusp of the pandemic to a mainstay of Greater Manchester and North West markets and now part of a mini Manc empire in the making.
After taking control of the old commercial premises back in 2020, their understated but impressively high-output unit still has lots of regulars in the know coming in for the good stuff, but still operates somewhat under the radar.
Maybe that’s part of the reason their quality control has remained at such a high level: although they provide to plenty of vendors all across the city and wider region, they’ve never overextended themselves to the point that even the slightest of standards slips.
If you’ve met Sapna before – the charismatic matriarch behind this brand and others like spin-off Cake Bar Co. and most recently, Punjabee – you’ll know that she doesn’t do anything by half measures.
And yes, there are Vanilli’s desserts on sale here, too.
A familiar face at the likes of Foodie Friday and various other street food stalls across the 10 boroughs and even further afield, she’s been doing some of these events since the very outset.
Sadly, without going into too much detail, she admits that there have been instances where her generosity has been “taken advantage of on more than one occasion”, but they will never stop her continuing to offer a helping hand.
The difference this time, however, is that she’s not simply putting others before herself all the time anymore; the Manc mum who’s played mother to many through her work over the years is finally shouting about herself and her unsung but nevertheless dedicated and talented team more.
And not just a little bit, either (no half measures, remember?) – she proudly proclaims that not only does Vanilli’s serve up some of the most authentic traditional recipes, but she happily lays claim to whipping up “the best Manchester tart” you’ll find anywhere.
As for this location, specifically, she simply wants to give people like you a reminder that it’s been there for more than 30 years at this point
She’s also looking to rebuild support throughout the community by teaming up with local brands and creators moving forward. Again, it’s about time she finally got on the receiving end of ‘You scratch my back, I’ll scratch yours’, which sounds like it’s long overdue.
Having recently put on a speciality spread for us, showcasing not only the classic but some fresh new ideas and creative takes on familiar, we can assure you some very delicious things are coming from Vanilli’s throughout the rest of 2026.
So, if like Sapna, you love “indulging in the sweeter side of life”, give a Vanilli’s cake, pastry or one of their other tasty desserts soon.
Find all of these and more at Unit 8, Crown Industrial, Poland Street, M4 6BN. (Credit: The Manc)
Blossoms deliver most rock and roll performance in years as Declan McKenna joins them on stage
Danny Jones
Last night, we were fortunate enough to be there in the flesh not only to see Blossoms play a special anniversary show in Manchester, but to witness Declan McKenna join them on stage.
A tiny part of us was wondering if we’d see Rick Astley roll out into the venue, but let’s just say we’ll absolutely take this.
Celebrating a decade to the day since the release of the self-titled debut LP – yes, we feel old, too – Blossoms announced the one-off intimate show at The Deaf Institute, a venue they hadn’t played in 12 whole years (good lord…), and it served as much more than a night of nostalgia.
But we’ll admit, the highlight was almost certainly seeing the ‘Brazil’ and ‘British Bombs’ singer join Tom Ogden, Charlie Salt, Josh Dewhurst, Myles Kellock and Joe Donovan on stage for their smallest gig since god knows when.
We’ve gotten somewhat used to seeing the Enfield-born solo artist popping up at random venues across the country and even performing DJ sets at local pubs.
If you haven’t seen that Kylie Minogue clip before, you really need to…
However, we don’t think anyone in the crowd was expecting this cameo, let alone hearing them perform a co-written track off the new record live in front of the audience for the very first time.
As if all of this wasn’t already a bit bonkers and left-field, the song in question, entitled ‘Additional Driver’, was self-admittedly so surprising in SO many ways that Tom felt he needed to explain the full story behind it and why Declan shouted “shoulda got the 192” before they started playing.
Yes, in some kind of Greater Mancunian fever dream, we’ve finally got artists writing lyrics about the region’s most infamous bus route that we’re sure most, if not all of you, can relate to.
But it wasn’t just this moment that had us debating in our heads, ‘are they the best Manc or maybe in Northern band full stop going right now?’, it was seeing them slip so seamlessly back into the more straight-down-the-line indie rock from their first chapter of studio material that did it.
Everyone knows and loves the biggest bangers from that inaugural outing: ‘Getaway’, ‘Charlemagne’, ‘At Most a Kiss’, ‘Honey Sweet’, etc.; but it’s hard to forget just how quintessentially rock and roll tunes like ‘Blow Rose’, ‘Cut Me and I’ll Bleed’, ‘Texia’ and even some of the other deep cuts/early releases are.
Don’t get us wrong, we love how much the dressing up (musically and quite literally) they’ve done over the years as their production, creativity and experimentation has increased, but it’s always hard to beat that feeling you get when finding an artist’s first album – especially one as good as Blossoms‘.
In fairness, listening back to ‘Deep Grass’ all these years later, we’ll still remember how spacey, psychedelic and downright different that intro felt back in the day; it now feels like a fitting end to that maiden outing and the perfect jumping-off point for what has been a real sonic exploration ever since.
For a lad born in SK2 and lucky enough to have seen these lads right from the start, stuff like this will never not feel surreal to me.
Long live ‘Blossoms from Stockport‘, and roll on Songs From The Wedding Cake this October.
Emily Sergeant -
17th February 2021 
