New Breadline charity will help struggling Buxton families

Set up by Caz Kidd from The Tradesman’s Entrance cafe on Buxton’s Market Place, The Breadline launched this week with the aim of helping families and people who are living on the breadline.

Caz said: “There is such a need for a helping hand service at the moment as people are really struggling.

“I’ve done Christmas Day meals for the community for the last six years and after the tough year we have all had with furloughs and redundancies we made 400 dinners or hampers up last year which is the biggest number we have ever done.

"Coupled with feeding children during the school holidays because parents were unable to make ends meet I knew something had to be done.”

The Breadline is being supported by the Connex charity and people in financial difficulty will have to make an application for either a £10 shopping voucher for each person in their home, phone credit or travel expenses.

Caz said: “We want to help people in any way we can and for some that might not be helping with food it might be putting money on their phone so they can ring for a job interview or sort out their benefits.

"For others since the court closed down people have to get to either Chesterfield or Stockport and they can’t afford the travel so are getting in more trouble but a bus pass for a week could tackle that problem."

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During the most recent lockdown Caz and her team at the Tradesman’s have been making Sunday dinners for those who may be going without.

She said: “Customers were paying for meals for other people and the idea grew so quickly that in February we were making up 60 dinners for people in one day.

"It was lovely to see people’s generosity.”

Cash donations to help Caz help others have been coming in since summer last year when she was making up packed lunches for those children who would have received free school meals.

Since then she has kept the money separate – including an anonymous donation of £1,000 which came through earlier this week – to launch The Breadline.

She said: “I wanted people to know that I was doing something good with the money and to make a difference to help others.

"We’re a small community here in Buxton and if we can help people we will, no one should be struggling alone.”

Morrison’s supermarket in Buxton has donated some shopping vouchers which Caz said is great and she added: “I’d love other businesses to support us too as the money we have in our reserve won’t last forever but there are always going to be people who need help.”

Donations to support The Breadline can be made at The Tradesman’s Entrance or via Connex where the money will come directly to the new scheme.

Anyone living in the five wards of Buxton and wanting help or support can ring The Breadline on 07377 384 650.

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