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August 7th, 2021

Hello,

This is the weekly newsletter from Loaf in Stirchley, keeping you abreast of our bakery and, once we can re-open it, our cookery school.

This week we look at the work of ASIRT, who we’re fundraising for this quarter, and Molly shares the music she makes croissants to.

But first, if you would like to pre-order your bread and pastries for the coming week, our website is now open.

Pre-order your bread

We have plenty of bread and pastries on the shelves too, with lunches served from noon on weekdays. Scroll down for this week’s lunch menu.

Our opening hours are:
Wednesday: 12-4
Thusday: 12-6
Friday: 12-4
Saturday: 9-1

The Breadlines

News from Loaf and the wider Stirchley region.

🥖 Loaf will be closed for our annual summer shutdown the last two weeks of August (16th - 29th). We’ll be spending this time deep-cleaning the building and preparing for the cookery school re-opening.

🥖 We had our first staff party in 18 months this week with all nine of us around a table, which was fantastic. Thanks to Eat Vietnam and Wildcat for hosting. Good times!

🥖 Stirchley Bloomers is meeting 10am this Sunday outside the old district office by the school for some gardening but also to plan what to do with that space over the next year. All are welcome!

🥖 Fruit & Nut Village is having a picnic on Monday at the top of Hazelwell Park to raise money for St Mary’s Hospice.

Music to make croissants by

You may have seen the croissants being made through the window as you queue for your bread. Often this is Molly, as she’s the best at croissants.

It is said* that viennoiserie is a state of mind as much as a technique, so if you’re struggling with your pastries maybe you need some music to help you focus. Molly has graciously shared her croissant-making playlist and the good news is it’s suitable for other non-pastry related tasks too!

Here's the playlist on Spotify (Best played on shuffle for maximum serendipitous juxtapositions.)

*It may not actually be said…

Introducing ASIRT

For the third quarter of this year we’re raising money for ASIRT, a small Birmingham-based charity that helps people in dire need of help due to their immigration status.

We asked Fiona at ASIRT to write about the work they do and how the money you raise will be used.

ASIRT (the Asylum and Immigration Resource Team) work to alleviate destitution caused by immigration issues. Many of our clients have no access to public funds, some are homeless, and where people have support it is minimal. For all of them, the underlying cause of this vulnerability is issues around their immigration status. Our clients often live in poor housing conditions, are without resources, have associated health conditions and are extremely vulnerable.

ASIRT's specialist immigration advisers work on the core issue of regularising status, while ensuring that clients are accessing the support they are entitled to. Making sure people have a roof over their head and food on the table are primary concerns, particularly for our families. We advocate with schools, landlords, children’s services and other providers, and apply for funding for our clients' basic needs.

The children we work with are some of the most deprived in the region. Many come from families who have no recourse to public funds and are supported by the local authority. This support gives a minimal payment to parents, and pays for temporary accommodation. Many of these children are entitled to British citizenship but their families are not able to pay the fees, which currently stand at £1,012. Often this means several children sharing a room with their parent(s), and not having access to cooking or washing facilities.

CW is originally from Nigeria — she has three children, two of whom are entitled to British Citizenship. She fled her abusive partner after he attacked one of her twins, but because she has no current immigration status, she cannot work, claim benefits or access hospital care. She and her three children are living in one room of a bed and breakfast. She is only able to use the kitchen at an allocated time, and the washing machine once a week. Unfortunately, the little boy still wets the bed at night, so this is very difficult to manage. The twins cannot access school lunches, and have very little money to spend on school uniforms, let alone luxuries. They have missed most of their schooling during the pandemic due to the fact that they have no internet access.

This family is, sadly, typical of our client group. Many of our children live with mothers fleeing domestic violence and with no recourse to public funds, leaving them destitute or at risk of returning to abusive relationships.

For single people there is not even this safety net, and many of them are sofa-surfing, sleeping on the streets, or in exploitative working situations.

We are currently focused on raising money for our hardship fund, which gives one-off grants to people for essential needs or to bridge a gap in support.

  • £45 pays for accommodation for a night before alternative support kicks in.
  • £30 covers food and other necessities such as nappies for a family of four over the weekend.
  • £30 for the train fare to London to get a new passport.
  • £40 - £70 to replace a passport.
  • £20 pays for a copy of a birth certificate.

Every penny that is donated to this fund will go straight to our clients to help them either meet their basic needs, or gain the necessary documentation to regularise their immigration status.

You can make a donation with your online pre-order or at the counter at our shop.

Lunches this week

This week's sourdough pizza is aubergine, capers, chilli and basil (V) on sale Wed to Fri.

The soup pot will be serving the following with a slice of sourdough bread:
Wed: Tarka daal curry (Ve).
Fri: Spinach, sweet potato and coconut curry (Ve).

Thursday's focaccia sandwich is broadbean hummus, rocket, grilled courgette and harissa (Ve) with optional halloumi (V).

Savoury snacks include our famous sausage rolls and vegetable rolls, available all week, plus ham & cheese and walnut pesto & cheese croissants on Thursday and Friday.

Lunches are made fresh every day for 12 noon. Our menu for the week is on the website here.

Thanks for all your continued support. See you next week!

Team Loaf: Neil, Pete, Molly, Sarah, Rach, Val, Martha, Nancy & Phil

loafonline.co.uk

 
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Cookery School reopening plans

Our cookery school is the heart of Loaf. Sadly closed during the pandemic, it is scheduled to re-open in January 2022. All vouchers will be honoured. Thank you for your patience.

More information →

Charity fundraising

From July through September we are collecting on behalf of ASIRT. You can make a contribution with your online order or in the shop.

Find out about ASIRT →

Fighting food poverty

Thanks to your support we are able to bake sacks of extra bread to give to the following organisations each week who are working across Birmingham to combat hunger. They can always use more help, from cash and food donations to volunteers.

If you know of other organisations fighting food poverty and hunger that can use 20 - 40 loaves a week, please let us know.
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