Manchester street kitchen: 'Free hot meals stop me starving'

Street Treats offers free hot food on Thursday nights in Piccadilly Gardens in Manchester

A homeless man who is living in a shelter and gets food from a street kitchen has said without those hot meals he would starve.

Volunteers from organisation, Street Treats, hand out free meals in Manchester city centre every Thursday.

They help about 100 people a week with food and clothes but need donations to help them continue.

A woman from Moston said she was "struggling" and the meals were "so helpful".

Many of the homeless people using the van in Piccadilly Gardens told BBC Radio Manchester the meals were the only food they had eaten that day.

Daryl Pollitt, who runs Street Treats, said: "We serve home-made food. Lots of delicious signature dishes like macaroni cheese, corned beef hash, vegetable curry and shepherd's pie. Hot and cold drinks as well.

"But we need foil trays and plastic forks to help serve the food".

Street Treats is a purely voluntary organisation, they do not deal in cash and rely on donations.

Michael Johnson from Clayton in East Manchester had a pasta dish which he said was "really nice", adding: "Without this food, I don't know what I'd have eaten".

Anthony Bush from Hyde, also visited the street kitchen and said: "I had curry and rice. It was really nice. I've had nothing all day. Without this, I'd starve."

Analysis

Richard Stead, BBC Radio Manchester

I went out to see the work of Street Treats. They provide warm meals each Thursday night in Manchester's Piccadilly Gardens.

What you do notice when you speak to people is the huge spectrum of different circumstances they find themselves in.

Many I spoke to were foreign nationals whose first language wasn't English.

Some were here illegally and weren't entitled to the main UK benefits. Some were staying in hotels.

A small number were rough sleeping and had refused the offer of a warm bed. Others weren't actually homeless - but were living in social housing.

Without exception though, they were extremely grateful for the hot food they received.

Street Treats also appealed for quality footwear.

Ms Pollitt said: "The homeless people go mad for trainers. Often the people we help have holes in their shoes. They've got wet feet so trainers are an absolute god send".

Shannon Gee from Moston said: "I'm living in homeless accommodation and I'm struggling. The food and the clothes here are so helpful".

A man from Ancoats said he got paid benefits every month but it was this warm food that helped him live on the streets because his drug problem meant the "majority of my benefits [are] gone"