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PODCAST

A Slice of Bread and Butter

The Bread and Butter Thing

The voice of The Bread and Butter Thing - with stories from the frontline of the cost of living crisis from one of the UK"s leading food charities.

society & culture personal journals

All Episodes

17:21

Food, Friendship, And Pam

A Slice of Bread and Butter ·

2026/04/17

Send us Fan Mail Pam answers the door at nearly 88 and instantly resets our expectations of ageing, resilience, and what it means to stay open to life. She’s sharp, funny, and still chasing new plans, from finding a fresh dance class to making the most of every week. As she tells it, the most powerful part of her story isn’t a grand speech, it’s the steady, practical choices that helped her cope when money was tight and life forced her to learn fast. We talk about The Bread and Butter ...

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17:28

Corned Beef Mountains

A Slice of Bread and Butter ·

2026/04/10

Send us Fan Mail £8.50 doesn’t go far at the supermarket right now, but in a community food club it can become a proper weekly shop and a moment of relief. Carol talks candidly about the point she noticed the change. Not overnight, but gradually, until the bank balance dipped and the overdraft became normal. We get into the real-world details behind “the bills have gone up” from rent and service charges to heating, water and the small costs that chip away at a budget. We also explore h...

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22:45

A Retired Nurse Explains Why Paying For Food Matters

A Slice of Bread and Butter ·

2026/04/03

Send us Fan Mail A weekly shop for less than a tenner sounds like a trick, until you hear what happens when surplus food meets a real community. We sit down with Caroline from Blacon, a retired nurse and former army medic, who found The Bread and Butter Thing through a leaflet at her GP. She talks honestly about pride, stigma, and why it matters that a food club feels like shopping rather than a handout, especially for people who would never set foot in something labelled a “food bank”. ...

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17:00

Tori Shows How Bread And Butter Builds Confidence...

A Slice of Bread and Butter ·

2026/03/27

Send us Fan Mail A cheap weekly shop can stretch your budget, but it can also change your life. We sit down with Tori, a member and volunteer at the Bread and Butter Thing hub in the North East, to talk about what it really looks like when surplus food reaches families who are stretched to the limit, and what happens when a warm welcome turns into belonging. Tori shares the pressure of raising a disabled daughter while waiting for Universal Credit and Disability Living Allowance, and w...

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22:07

How Close Are We All To The Edge?

A Slice of Bread and Butter ·

2026/03/20

Send us Fan Mail A good job and a full life can look solid right up until the moment it isn’t. We’re in Stockton talking with Tony, who spent decades working in television graphics before a run of changes knocked everything sideways: technology reshaping the industry, the Greek financial crash draining savings, serious illness, and then a painful return to the UK marked by grief, instability and homelessness. It’s not a neat story, but it’s an honest one and it shows how quickly “doing fine” ...

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27:46

Sea Coal, Steep Hills, Strong Hearts

A Slice of Bread and Butter ·

2026/03/13

Send a text A neighbour shares a spare roast chicken and suddenly a whole world opens up. That’s how Margaret, a proud Hartlepool local with three feisty dogs and a lifetime of stories, found our hyper-local food hub. What follows is a candid journey through love and loss, the reality of disability, and a fierce independence that once powered fifteen years of life on boats, sea coal fires glowing while snow fell outside. We explore why proximity is as important as price. For Margaret, a five...

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27:52

It’s Not A Food Bank, Promise

A Slice of Bread and Butter ·

2026/03/06

Send a text A warm room, a busy kitchen, and a queue that tells the truth about an “affluent” postcode—this conversation maps the real landscape of need. We sit down with Liz and Anne from the Hub in Altrincham to explore how a community centre that practices more than it preaches turns surplus food into stability, welcome, and pride. The small charge isn’t a gimmick; it’s the engine of dignity. Members stretch budgets without shame, and volunteers, from retired couples to parents and student...

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19:03

Heat, Help, And Human Connection

A Slice of Bread and Butter ·

2026/02/27

Send a text Ever wondered why your radiators sit under a window and your living room still feels cold? We sit down with Groundwork’s Green Doctor to unpack simple fixes that actually work, decode baffling energy bills, and map real routes to grants that can slash monthly costs without the jargon or the runaround. We start with the power of place: Bread and Butter Thing hubs where a low-cost weekly shop meets trusted advice. From radiator foil and draft proofing to LEDs and electric blankets,...

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21:29

Nigel, Food Waste, And Community

A Slice of Bread and Butter ·

2026/02/20

Send a text Surprise is the secret ingredient that changes how a family cooks, saves, and connects. When Nigel first tried The Bread and Butter Thing during Covid, he wasn’t chasing a bargain so much as a better way to teach his kids about food, waste, and money. What he found was a weekly shop that stretched the budget, sparked curiosity in the kitchen, and opened the door to a community hub where everyone feels welcome—from teachers and key workers to parents juggling clubs and school shoes...

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31:45

Debt Advice That Puts People First with Payplan

A Slice of Bread and Butter ·

2026/02/13

Send a text Money stress rarely arrives politely. It shows up as a brown envelope you avoid opening, a skipped meal to cover a minimum payment, or a quiet dread when the doorbell rings. We invited Anthony and Emma from PayPlan to share how free, confidential debt advice can break that spell and help people stabilise faster than they expect. Together, we trace the path from first contact to a realistic plan, and why a simple WhatsApp message can be a softer, safer entry point when anxiety is h...

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19:03

How A Belfast Tenor’s Son Became The Best-Dressed...

A Slice of Bread and Butter ·

2026/02/06

Send us a text A sharp suit, a warm voice, and a life spent in service: meet Tom from Altrincham, our front-of-house dynamo who turns a weekly affordable food shop into a community ritual. We dive into his unlikely route from military discipline to infection control and finally to the Alti Hub, where he keeps the line moving, spirits high, and dignity at the centre of every interaction. What begins as surplus food distribution becomes a story about purpose, neighbourliness, and the hidden nee...

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21:49

Cake Divides Us, Groceries Unite Us

A Slice of Bread and Butter ·

2026/01/30

Send us a text The cost of living makes quiet heroes out of neighbours, and today you’ll meet two of them. Tracy and Tina welcome us into the New Life hub in Billingham, one of the many bread and butter hubs in the North East. What starts as a shop quickly becomes a ritual: unload the van, sort the fruit and veg, share a cuppa, swap recipes, and leave with a little more energy than you arrived with. We dig into what makes this model different. It’s not means tested, and that matters. Workers...

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19:39

How Talking Therapies Meet Communities Where They Are

A Slice of Bread and Butter ·

2026/01/23

Send us a text The gap between everyday life and mental health support can feel wide—especially when money worries, stress, and isolation pile up. We bring that gap down to walking distance by teaming up with NHS Manchester Talking Therapies to offer free, practical help right inside our community food hubs. No waiting rooms, no jargon—just real conversations in a familiar space, and a clear path to tools that actually help. Paula from Manchester Talking Therapies explains how their service ...

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23:11

Rural Food, Real Community

A Slice of Bread and Butter ·

2026/01/16

Send us a text A hidden social club down a narrow alley in Loftus isn’t just a building; it’s a beating heart where food turns into friendship and scattered villages become a community. We sit with Julie from Tees Valley Rural Action to unpack how a Covid‑era response grew into a lively hub that blends surplus groceries, warm brews, and on‑the‑spot advice. What looks like a queue for affordable food is really a doorway to rural wellbeing: people swap recipes, meet an adviser, and find out abo...

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24:14

How Anglian Water Turned Support Into Savings

A Slice of Bread and Butter ·

2026/01/09

Send us a text What if your water company felt like a neighbour who actually shows up to help? We sit down with Anglian Water’s customer team to explore how WaterCare turns support into real savings, from clearer bills and accessible contact to debt relief, crisis help and an industry-first medical discount that stops health needs inflating costs. The conversation starts in our community hubs, where trust is built face to face. A single Facebook post and one resident’s success story turned he...

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24:44

How Loan Sharks Trap Ordinary People And What...

A Slice of Bread and Butter ·

2026/01/02

Send us a text The most dangerous lender in your life might look like a friend. Catherine from Stop Loan Sharks joins us to reveal how illegal moneylenders hide in plain sight—at school gates, in workplace chats, and even on Social Media and why the first loan often feels like a favour before the terms twist into intimidation, shame, and spiralling costs. We unpack “double bubble” repayment traps, the confusion created by no paperwork, and how variable pricing punishes the most vulnerable. W...

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17:26

When Your Christmas Dinner Is Crisps, Neighbours...

A Slice of Bread and Butter ·

2025/12/25

Send us a text A single night can upend a life. Paula opens up about the assault that left her husband Steve with a brain injury and a stroke, and how their steady, working‑class routine collapsed into uncertainty—savings drained, work gone, debts calling and a home suddenly quiet where Sunday dinners used to anchor the week. What follows is a candid, moving account of caregiving, hospital corridors and the slow work of rehab, where a whiteboard stands in for memory and old songs help knit la...

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23:03

Money Help, Without The Judgement

A Slice of Bread and Butter ·

2025/12/19

Send us a text Money worries don’t pause for the holidays, and neither do we. We sit down with Matthew Sheeran from Money Wellness to explore how the debt landscape has shifted from credit cards to priority bills like rent, council tax and energy, and why buy now pay later has quietly become a mainstream risk for everyday essentials. Matthew shares what actually happens when you reach out for free money and debt advice, how his team blends online and phone support seven days a week, and why a...

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25:54

Two Mums, Seven Kids, And A Whole Lot Of Grit Explain...

A Slice of Bread and Butter ·

2025/12/12

Send us a text A tenner doesn’t go far when milk costs more at the corner shop and the drive to a cheaper supermarket eats your fuel. We sit down with Sam and Jackie, two mums who turn surplus food into dinners, neighbours into friends, and hard choices into a kind of everyday heroism. Their stories move fast: winter coats for five kids, PE kits due the same week, fuel planned like a spreadsheet, and homework set online without laptops at home. It’s the UK cost-of-living crunch at ground leve...

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19:36

Gemma Shows How Dignity, Not Charity, Builds A...

A Slice of Bread and Butter ·

2025/12/05

Send us a text A warm room, a friendly queue, and equal bags for everyone might sound simple, but they’re the building blocks of a neighbourhood that refuses to let people go hungry or feel ashamed. We sit down with Gemma from St Luke’s in Wythenshawe to explore how a volunteer-led hub transforms surplus food into affordable groceries, steady routines and real belonging. She shares how the £8.50 food club protects dignity, why the “first bag’s best” rumour is just that, and how a thousand cup...

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96 results

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