Hungry? The spirit of Christmas

Santas

I was really lucky. My Saturday job, and then the job I did for a couple of summers whilst a student, was working at Birkenhead Library. Just at the junction of Wilmer Road and Borough Road there was a dodgy looking 2nd car showroom. It is now the Deen Centre, a community centre and a mosque.

Last Friday a group of us got together to pack food parcels for the Trust. It was a joint effort between local members of the mosque and members and supporters of the Trust. It was a moment when our common purpose became what defined us, united together in doing what we can to alleviate hunger locally. 

By the end of a busy afternoon we had packed over 100 boxes of food for distribution. The boxes included cornflakes, beans, juices, instant mash, pasta, rice, toothpaste, Christmas treats and much more. They were due to be distributed on Sunday to people nominated for the support. 

It was impressive. Lots of donations had been made from supporters, which have gone to Wirral Food-bank. The Christmas hampers were supported with funding from Wirral Council, using the Trust because, along with many other community organisations, it offers an alternative means of reaching people in need. There are now more food-banks than branches of McDonalds, something that is a sad indictment of the level of need, a quarter of the way in to the first century of the second millennium. 

Amongst the merriment it’s easy to forget that for many people Christmas is a huge struggle. It’s not just about food, although hunger is probably at the pinnacle of need that has to be addressed. Christmas is a time when people often get stressed, or depressed, or when free flowing alcohol feeds dependency issues. Of course, it’s a time of joy, but it’s not the case for everyone.

I was and I am lucky. I don’t need to use food-banks. I haven’t known hunger since my childhood. My worries are superficial; will we win on Boxing Day? What’s happening with our clubs ownership, that sort of thing. Some people reading this will have much more going on in their lives. Concerns about their jobs, uncertainty about where they are living or ill-health to contend with. Whilst I personally have no strong faith, other than tested faith in the Super White Army, it strikes me that the activities at the Deen Centre captured the spirit of Christmas, good will to all. 

There are times on this forum when we express our views to one another harshly. There are times when our frustrations spill over and we demonstrate something opposite to goodwill. Yet we are, if not a family, then definitely a community. In the spirit of that community I hope that your Christmas delivers for you everything that you want, that it is free from hunger, free from worry, and that we are celebrating three points against Fleetwood at 5pm on Boxing Day.

The views expressed are personal.