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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

19:57

Listen again - Deano

A Slice of Bread and Butter ·

2025/10/31

Send us a text What does life look like when the pub lights go out for good? We sit with Dino, a veteran publican whose seven-day workweeks ended in lockdown, and follow his path through empty cupboards, mounting debt, and the quiet bravery of asking for help. His story is raw, practical, and full of heart: batch cooking stews into freezer tubs, turning chicken fillets into comfort curries, and finding a brew and a chat at a community food hub when the world felt small. We explore how The Br...

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20:08

Listen again - James

A Slice of Bread and Butter ·

2025/10/24

Send us a text What does it mean to “do everything right” and still come up short? We sit with James, a support worker caring for adults with learning disabilities and autism, to trace the real maths of modern poverty: long shifts, term‑time childcare gaps, energy and rent hikes, and the slow erosion of a family’s “nice time” pot. James talks candidly about budgeting in pots, living on beans so his son could eat well, and the relief he found through The Bread and Butter Thing—affordable, nutr...

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19:42

Listen again - James and Braith

A Slice of Bread and Butter ·

2025/10/17

Send us a text A family finds a way through a system that too often blocks the very basics. James and his son, Braith, talk candidly about becoming homeless, paying monthly to store the things that make a house feel like home, and the long wait for essential adaptations that would let Braith live safely and independently. Their story is grounded in the realities many people face right now: age-based housing criteria that don’t fit need, carers without bus passes in Greater Manchester, and the...

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27:39

Money, Minds, and the Jam Jar Fix

A Slice of Bread and Butter ·

2025/10/10

Send us a text Ever felt that knot in your stomach when the phone rings or another brown envelope lands on the mat? We go straight at that feeling with the Money and Me team from Mind in Salford, unpacking how money stress and mental health lock into a vicious cycle—and how small, steady changes can unlock control and calm. From the first brave step of opening bills together to six weeks of guided sessions, we map the journey from avoidance to action in a way that’s humane, practical, and sur...

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17:40

Bel, Twins, and the Beetroot Debate

A Slice of Bread and Butter ·

2025/10/04

Send us a text A front room in Crewe, a panting old dog, and a mum of three-year-old twins who can turn one cooked chicken into three meals without breaking the bank. We sit down with Belle to unpack how an £8.50 membership with The Bread and Butter Thing stretches into fresh fruit and veg, pantry staples, and the freedom to try new foods—yes, even ostrich steaks—without fear of waste. The real story isn’t just cheaper groceries; it’s how dignity, choice, and community show up week after week...

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22:41

Breaking Bread: Inside Hillside High's Community Impact

A Slice of Bread and Butter ·

2025/09/26

Send us a text Helen Thornton welcomes us into Hillside High School in Bootle, where the stark reality of educational inequality meets unwavering community spirit. As both a teacher and Bread and Butter Thing volunteer, Helen offers a compassionate, ground-level perspective on the challenges facing students from diverse backgrounds in this vibrant school near Liverpool. "I've got students who the only hot meal they get is here at school," Helen reveals, before describing how the school has b...

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18:47

Garfield's Story: Theatre, Food Waste, and Community

A Slice of Bread and Butter ·

2025/09/19

Send us a text From the bright lights of theatre to the humble act of sharing food with neighbours, Garfield Allen's story shows how The Bread and Butter Thing touches lives in unexpected ways. Garfield, a freelance theatre producer with 40 years of experience bringing creative ideas to the stage, first connected with TBBT when finances were tight. Though his work bringing dance, film, mime and puppetry to audiences doesn't always pay generously, it fulfills him in ways many never experience...

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25:18

The Rainbow on Your Plate: Hammonds' 125-Year Food...

A Slice of Bread and Butter ·

2025/09/12

Send us a text Ever wondered what happens when a 125-year-old family farm meets a modern food charity? The magic that unfolds is changing how communities access fresh, nutritious food across Britain. This episode takes us behind the scenes with John Hammond and Richard Grant from Hammond's Farm, a fourth-generation family business growing everything from traditional root vegetables to colourful purple carrots across their 2,500-acre farm (that's over 1,200 football pitches!). Their passion f...

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24:03

Surviving and Thriving: Betti's Journey from Arranged...

A Slice of Bread and Butter ·

2025/09/05

Send us a text "Food is a luxury." These four words from Betti, a British-Asian single mother in Newcastle, cut straight to the heart of Britain's cost of living crisis. In this powerful episode of A Slice of Bread and Butter, we meet a woman whose resilience shines through a life story marked by extraordinary challenges. Betti's journey begins with an arranged marriage at just 16 years old, entering a world she wasn't prepared for. With remarkable candour and unexpected humour, she shares t...

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19:19

The Day We Lost Everything: Rebuilding Through Community

A Slice of Bread and Butter ·

2025/08/29

Send us a text What happens when your life savings vanish overnight? For Karen, this devastating reality struck when a £150,000 investment in her daughter's business venture collapsed due to contractual issues with their building. This financial catastrophe arrived alongside serious health challenges after Karen developed long COVID, forcing her to leave her job as an exams officer when breathing difficulties made her work impossible. Karen's story reveals the cascading nature of hardship. W...

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17:49

Single Mom Superhero: Tracy's Unfiltered Story

A Slice of Bread and Butter ·

2025/08/22

Send us a text "I'm a worker, not a charity case." These six powerful words from Tracy, a 47-year-old single mother working at IKEA, capture the essence of a profound conversation about financial struggle, resilience, and the hidden battles many families face behind brave smiles. Tracy's story unfolds with raw honesty as she reveals how divorce left her shouldering £102,000 of debt while raising two daughters—one 11 years old and another 21 and pregnant (making Tracy soon to be "Grand...

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22:00

When Life Changes Course: Navigating Benefits While...

A Slice of Bread and Butter ·

2025/08/15

Send us a text When life throws a curveball, navigating support systems shouldn't feel like scaling a brick wall. Yet for John, whose partner's sudden health decline forced him to abandon his teaching career and become a full-time carer, that's exactly what happened. "These numbers don't add up," became John's mantra as he juggled caring responsibilities with punishing 55-hour night shifts at a retail warehouse. Despite his education and determination, the benefits system proved nearly impen...

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20:10

Community Catalyst: How Food Creates Transformation

A Slice of Bread and Butter ·

2025/08/08

Send us a text "It's not just the food—it's reinvigorating community spaces." These powerful words from Paul Harris, headteacher at Carhill Community Primary School in Gateshead, capture the transformative impact The Bread and Butter Thing has had on his community in just three short weeks. Serving a school where 60% of children qualify for free school meals, Paul recognized immediately that TBBT's affordable food model could complement his existing community support initiatives. What he did...

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26:37

Financially Stuck: The Hidden Struggle of Working...

A Slice of Bread and Butter ·

2025/08/01

Send us a text What happens when a healthcare professional with a Master's degree finds herself struggling to put food on the table? Emma Vinton's story challenges our assumptions about who needs community food support in today's economy. Emma, a dedicated nurse who pivoted to medical writing after 20 years in healthcare, never expected to need help with food shopping. But when her housing costs doubled after separating from her partner, she discovered what many working professionals are exp...

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22:20

The Benefits Labyrinth: Tracy Finds Her Way Through

A Slice of Bread and Butter ·

2025/07/25

Send us a text When Tracy moved from Working Tax Credits to Universal Credit, nothing about her circumstances changed – she was still a single mum working as a support worker on national living wage. Yet suddenly, she found herself without access to free prescriptions, dental care and glasses that she'd previously relied on. "I had emergency dental treatment more or less as soon as I migrated over to universal credit... and I had to pay for it." Tracy's story reveals the hidden complexities ...

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16:44

Lost and Found: Farid's Journey

A Slice of Bread and Butter ·

2025/07/18

Send us a text What drives a 15-year-old boy to flee his home country alone, crossing dangerous borders in darkness to reach safety thousands of miles away? For Farid, it was the Taliban's targeting of his family due to his father and brothers' work with Afghan special forces. Nine years after that perilous journey, Farid has built a life in Newcastle – a city he chose for its "chill" atmosphere after exploring several UK locations. His path hasn't been without challenges; in an ironic twist...

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22:10

Food clubs offer more than just affordable food—they...

A Slice of Bread and Butter ·

2025/07/11

Send us a text What happens when working full-time simply isn't enough to feed your family? Tracy's powerful story exposes the harsh reality many working parents face in today's economy. As a single mother of five working as a property assistant for Kirklees Council, Tracy embodies the growing demographic of "working poor" – those doing everything society expects yet still struggling to make ends meet. After a series of unexpected health operations last year, Tracy found herself skipping mea...

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23:18

From Social Worker to Service User

A Slice of Bread and Butter ·

2025/07/04

Send us a text Lorraine Smith's journey from social worker to service user reveals the profound ways life can change when health challenges arise unexpectedly. After receiving six different diagnoses in six months, this Manchester-born professional found herself navigating the very support systems she once guided others through. The conversation takes us through Lorraine's fascinating background – born to Jamaican and South American parents, spending formative years in Barbados, and eventual...

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24:11

The New Normal: When Full-Time Work Isn't Enough

A Slice of Bread and Butter ·

2025/06/27

Send us a text The face of financial hardship is changing. Meet David - data analyst by day, heavy metal musician by night - who embodies a troubling economic trend that's sweeping across the UK. David and his wife both work full-time professional jobs. They don't drive, don't have children, and live modestly. Yet they frequently find themselves struggling financially, sometimes unable even to afford The Bread and Butter Thing's affordable food service. How is this possible? The answer reve...

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18:00

When debt becomes your comfort zone, change feels...

A Slice of Bread and Butter ·

2025/06/20

Send us a text Meet Tracy, whose metal heart valve ticks audibly throughout our conversation - a constant reminder of the life-threatening surgery that became a turning point in her already challenging financial journey. Tracy's story offers a rare glimpse into how debt becomes not just a circumstance but an identity. Having become a mother at 17 and growing up with a mother who was always in debt, Tracy's financial struggles began from the moment she had her own place. "That's all I've ever...

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72 results

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