In the heart of Pimlico, a community hero has been running a food pantry next to one of the largest council estates in London.
Mike Smith, 61, has been running the Mary Smith Pantry since 2017.
Named in honour of his mother, the pantry began life out of a storage container near Victoria station providing reduced price groceries & clothing to those in need of support.
Smith, at the centre of community work in Pimlico since the age of 16, said: “It’s more than just a food bank. It feels like a village community here.”
Smith’s father died when he was young, and the welfare system made sure he and his seven siblings were looked after while his mother was ill, taking them on day trips and to see her when she was in hospital.
Community is in his blood. Rosemary, Mike’s sister, also assists in the Pantry when she can.
Celia Basilisco, fellow volunteer and director of the pantry, said: “Mike basically saved my life. I wasn’t able to leave the house during Covid as my son is disabled. Mike brought us fresh fruit and veg every day. He brought us our first Christmas tree dressed as Father Christmas. He’s been my saviour.”
Smith has nurtured relationships with both The Felix Project & City Harvest to provide weekly shops for those in need.
Charged £5 per visit, shoppers are able to have access to fresh fruit, vegetables and non-perishable goods that will total £20 or more.
Tea and cake is often available whilst patrons shop and socialise.
Numbers using food banks across London have been rising for the past decade, and Basilisco echoed this.
She said: “The demand for food is massive, the highest its ever been.”
The previous Westminster Council administration had begun talks to remove the pantry in 2021, referencing development plans for the land on which it operated.
This prompted a spate of letters to Westminster officials and the incoming Labour Council both saved Mary Smith’s pantry from collapse, and found it a new home next to one of the largest council estates in London.
Led by Liza Begum, the council continue to provide financial assistance to the pantry.
Only last week the Office for National Statistics posted a surprise jump in inflation to 3%, saying a jump in the cost of meat, bread and cereals pushed up food bills.
The Trussell Trust, a charity that tracks food bank usage, posted in their 2023/24 report an almost doubling in the use of food banks in the past five years across the UK.
Figures in London have also made stark reading, with 454,750 people using a food bank last year, an increase of almost 100,000.
The pantry also helps fund a children’s orphanage, raising money each month to pay for the lease on a property in Ghana.
Smith wants the pantry to buy the building.
He added: “My mum loved kids and always looked after them. In her legacy and mine, when I go, at least those kids will have a permanent home.”
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