Eat Well: The restaurant-backed charity feeding hidden homeless families in Manchester
What began as a drive to feed the NHS has become so much more - with restaurant-backed charity Eat Well MCR now dedicated to supporting the Manchester families most affected by the pandemic.
Across Greater Manchester, there are thousands of families living in emergency and temporary accommodation.
Whilst standards vary, the majority offer very little cooking equipment – and generally, ‘mod cons’ on offer come down to little more than a shared kettle and maybe a microwave.
Much of this housing is often located in ‘food deserts’ – areas with limited access to affordable, fresh ingredients. This, combined with families’ financial struggles, means some parents across the region are choosing to go hungry so that they can feed their kids.
Although there is a good amount of visibility for street homelessness services in Manchester today, the plight of families experiencing homelessness remains much more obscured.
Currently, only a few organisations recognise the issue – and Manchester charity Eat Well MCR is the one preparing fresh, nutritious meals for people in need (as opposed to dried packets of noodles, for example).
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Meals prepared by Ancoats restaurant Elnecot being delivered to MRI ITU in May 2020 / Image: Eat Well MCR
The charitable collective was set up by Creameries chef Mary-Ellen McTague alongside friends Kathleen O’Connor and Gemma Saunders in April of last year, a week before the first lockdown hit.
Initially, its focus was on providing food to hard-hit NHS staff. At that time, panic buying had emptied supermarket shelves and many were coming off gruelling shifts to find they couldn’t even get any food in for their tea.
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Simultaneously, restaurants and bars were still open but had no customers – thanks to early government guidance that advised people to keep away but didn’t tell businesses to close.
This meant there were a host of Manchester chefs standing in empty restaurants with fully-stocked pantries, watching food deteriorate whilst others struggled to get any at all.
McTague had a brainwave. Facing her own empty restaurant kitchen, with a load of donations of fresh food that had no other place to go, she felt that “the obvious thing to do was to cook the food and take it to those who needed it.”
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Partnering with a network of top Manchester restaurants like Hawksmoor and Elnecot, the trio quickly mobilised to take unwanted food that would otherwise have gone in the bin and redistribute it into healthy meals for local NHS staff.
Restaurant-grade meals prepared by staff at Ancoats restaurant Elnecot, Little Window in Altrincham and Honest Crust Sourdough Pizza for those in need / Image: Eat Well MCR
In the weeks that followed, they went from delivering 50 meals on their first day to more than 1,800 a week – and soon realised there were a lot more people in Manchester who needed their help.
Eat Well expanded their operation to begin working with homeless and other vulnerable residents, reaching out to women’s refuges and hotels housing rough sleepers to offer their support.
They also set up an online marketplace, a win-win that has helped to fund more meals for those in need whilst also bringing in much-needed money for partner restaurants that were intermittently closed or operating as takeaway only during the lockdowns.
Here, people can purchase top quality restaurant produce like sourdough pizzas from Honest Crust, pre-mixed cocktails from local producers like Into The Gathering Dust, and fresh fruit and veg from projects like the Cinderwood market garden – a 1-acre organic market garden in Cheshire set up by a local farmer and chef to help make biologically intensive food more accessible.
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To date, the charitable collective has delivered nearly 45,000 meals to people in need and is aiming to hit its next milestone of 100,000 with a little help from the people of Manchester.
Deliveries arriving at ABC Brewery for the Eat Well MCR Marketplace – set up to help partner restaurants sell their produce and to fund more meals for those in need / Image: Eat Well MCR
Managing everything themselves, the charity sources food for their partner restaurants to cook up into nutritious, hearty portions then delivers it out to partner charities such as Emmeline’s Pantry, a Manchester food bank that works exclusively with women in need.
It’s made a huge difference to families who use the service, according to team member Karen Wilson.
“These meals mean so much to our families for different reasons – some are in temporary accommodation with just a microwave, so having a balanced tasty meal is a real treat,” she said.
“It’s a blessing to have a lovely meal made with care, it means more than just the food itself.”
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She adds that the partnership has also meant that some families have had the chance to try new foods from restaurants in central Manchester – like KRUM doughnuts from Freight Island and Nell’s pizza.
“The feedback we have had from some of the people we support was that it brought back lovely family memories from childhood, enjoying a meal all together,” adds Karen.
“We also have the supper club part of our making memories scheme, where we get wonderful takeaway meals delivered to the children – they love the variety.
“It’s such a treat to our families! None of that would be possible without Eat Well MCR and we are incredibly thankful to them for everything they do for us.”
Emmeline’s Pantry is a family-focused food bank. Each week, service users can take home a delicious meal, ready prepared – something that many of us take for granted. / Image: Eat Well MCR
Speaking on the project, co-founder and chef Mary-Ellen McTague said: “Food poverty is a real issue in Greater Manchester and there is still so much more work to be done to help people in challenging circumstances who rely on the work we carry out.
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“Food shouldn’t just be about survival; it should feed the soul and be an occasion to look forward to. We provide a delicious, restaurant-grade meal once a week to vulnerable people across Manchester because we believe it’s something everyone deserves and has a right to.
“We’re so thankful to everyone who has supported and donated to Eat Well MCR after what has been such an uncertain year for so many people. We are incredibly proud of what we have achieved over the last year and we couldn’t have done it without the help from the wonderful people who have continued to buy, donate, and shout about us.
“We’re so keen to keep this momentum for donations going and would love to celebrate the delivery of 100,000 meals.”
To support Eat Well MCR and help reach the 100,000 meal milestone, you can provide a monthly or one-off donation by visiting their JustGiving page or eatwellmcr.org.
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Review | The Lion, The Witch and The Beaver* – sorry, Wardrobe
The Manc
What an enchanting evening at The Lowry as we were transported to Narnia to review the live stage adaptation of The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe in Media City as the production began its festive run in Greater Manchester.
As we entered the playing space, the atmosphere was set with a pianist on stage, slowly drowning out the noise of the outside world and settling the audience in for a night of magic.
Launching ‘Act One’ with a touching rendition of the British wartime classic, ‘We’ll Meet Again’ by Vera Lynne, we meet the large ensemble, multi-instrumentalist cast.
This talented ensemble pivots around multiple roles throughout the performance, creating a shape-shifting atmosphere with some impressive seamless transitions, allowing us to “open our minds” and be absorbed into the mythical world of Narnia alongside The Pevensies.
Sweetly played by Joanna Adaran, Jesse Dunbar, Kudzai Mangombe and Bunmi Osadolor, they excel in exploring sibling dynamics such as rivalry, trust, but most of all, loyalty and love.
The most mind-blowing element of this performance, however, was the production; it truly is the unsung hero of the entire show, so we’ll so the singing on their behalf.
Set and costume (designed by Tom Paris), lighting (done by Jack Knowles), puppetry design and direction (by Max Humphries and Toby Olie), sound design (credit to Tom Marshall) and hair, make-up and wig designer (Susanna Perez).
All this carefully curated talent helped create a world where we had no choice but to believe in magic.
For us as an audience, it made things so much easier to immerse and delight in the world of C.S. Lewis’ imagination, as it is so wonderfully presented in front of us.
This was elevated once again by levitation and disappearing acts – the scene was set on the boards and in the air.
Huge credit goes to Gwen Hales (aerial director) and Chris Fisher (magic and illusions); it felt as if anything was possible, and we needed no convincing that we were in the presence of pure enchantment.
However, arguably the most magnificent moment of the show was the reveal of Aslan himself. As this grand puppet prowled onto the stage, you could hear gasps echo throughout the theatre.
Manoeuvred by three puppeteers, this skilful spectacle was a credit to bringing the story to life in live theatre. The seamless, lifelike movements of breath and king-like presence were both majestic and a credit to the production.
Accompanied by Stanton Wright, we had no doubt that this was the true hero of Narnia.
If you want us to sum up our review of The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe at The Lowry, quite simply, this show is nothing short of a marvel.
Make sure to take home a cuddly lion toy, of course. (Credit: The Manc)
With constant playfulness and wit throughout – mainly brought to you from the broad Northern and oh-so lovable Mr Beaver (Ed Thorpe), and fellow believer in magic, ‘The Professor’ (Kraig Thornber).
It’s the lattermost that left us with a lasting thought, as he warmly reminds the audience that even when times feel dark, “the sun is always up there, we just have to look.”
The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe is running from The Lowry in Salford Quays all the way up until Sunday, 11 January 2026. Don’t miss the magic and grab your tickets HERE.
If you’re interested in finding out what else we’ve enjoyed at the theatre in Manchester recently, then look no further…
Featured Images — The Manc Group/Press shots (Brinkhoff/Moegenburg supplied via The Lowry)
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Peaky Blinders confirm title and release date of upcoming film
Danny Jones
After what feels like an age since it was first announced, Peaky Blinders and Netflix have finally confirmed the title and release date of the upcoming feature-length film.
It was revealed that the global streaming giant secured exclusive rights to the movie last year, and it has now been revealed that it will also be released in selected theatres before it hits the platform.
With production on the long-talked-about project getting underway in September 2024, we’ve heard little else from creator Steven Knight, who has also been booked to deliver the Oasis reunion documentary chronicling their Live ’25 world tour.
However, we now know not only the official title of the film, Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man, and that it will be dropping early next year. They’ve even shared the first poster.
Clearly referring to the series’ most famous lead character, Thomas Shelby – played by now fully-fledged Hollywood A-lister Cillian Murphy since 2013 – the teaser shows him sat astride a horse, not to mention covered in a fair amount of dirt and/or blood.
Alongside the suit and the trademark newsboy cap with blades inserted in the brim (the calling card of both the fictional and the real ‘Peaky Blinders’), it’s quite a classic look of Tommy’s.
Scheduled to release in limited cinemas on 6 March before arriving on Netflix on 20/3/2026, this will not only be the first film in the wider franchise but the first to air separately from the BBC.
While its parent network is still involved as collaborators on the flick, this is the first instalment in the IP to be distributed directly by Netflix after they bought the rights to release the show in the US.
Another look at a seemingly older Tommy Shelby (Credit: Publicity picture via Netflix)
As for The Immortal Man, both new and returning members of the cast include:
Cillian Murphy (Oppenheimer, 28 Days Later)
Rebecca Ferguson (Dune, Silo)
Tim Roth (Reservoir Dogs, The Hateful Eight)
Sophie Rundle (After the Flood, Gentleman Jack)
Ned Dennehy (Culprits, The Peripheral)
Packy Lee (Blue Lights)
Ian Peck (His Dark Materials, Robin Hood)
Jay Lycurgo (Steve, Half Bad: The Bastard Son & The Devil Himself)
Barry Keoghan (Saltburn, The Banshees of Inisherin)
Stephen Graham (Adolescence, A Thousand Blows)
Speaking in a full press release, Murphy said: “It seems like Tommy Shelby wasn’t finished with me. It is very gratifying to be re-collaborating with Steven Knight and Tom Harper on the film version of Peaky Blinders. This is one for the fans.”
Returning four years after the end of the mainline series, but catching up with Tommy at the outset of WWII in terms of the actual timelines, Netflix say that the Shelby patriarch “is driven back from a self-imposed exile to face his most destructive reckoning yet.”
Safe to say we cannot wait to be back in the world.
In the meantime, you can find out more about the next season(s) of Peaky Blinders coming to the BBC very soon down below.
Georgina Pellant -
23rd June 2021 
