A young woman from Barnsley is using her personal experiences with food insecurity to run an independent food bank out of her kitchen.

Terri Allen, 23 is the brains behind Feeding Barnsley and, since the non-profit began in May 2023, with the help of her partner, Adam Legge, 29, has assembled, packaged and delivered over 200 food parcels to people across Barnsley who are struggling to access to food, something they are all too familiar with. 

In 2021, Terri found herself homeless, drifting between places until she eventually bought a house with Adam with the last of what they had. 

The couple, despite both working full time jobs, had to use Caring for Kendray, another non-profit organisation in Barnsley which helps local people who are urgently in need.  

Terri said: “When we finally got the house we are in now, we spent our last little bit of money just to get a foodshop in. 

“We moved in just before Christmas. By January we had nothing.

“The thought of having no money in your bank with three weeks until payday and you’ve got no food, it’s horrible.”

Once they were back on their feet, Terri wanted to help those who are in the same situation she was. 

She said: “There are families going through that now but they’ve got no way out. I haven’t got any kids, but these people that we help, they’ve got kids and I couldn’t imagine these kids going to bed not having had any food.”

“At the time, we didn’t have a lot of money, but I thought when we’re making a portion of spag bol, I’ll make 2 extras and I’ll freeze them and offer them to people.”

From there, Terri went from cooking people hot meals to see them through to payday, to creating a platform for people to reach out to her, explain their situation and request an emergency food parcel.

The food parcels are reliant on donations, from people buying items from Feeding Barnsley’s Amazon wishlist, donating cash through PayPal, or dropping off the last couple of tins they may have in their cupboards, as well as Terri’s time and immense effort. 

She said: “Any spare money I’ve got goes on these food parcels, even if we’ve got no donations.

“It might be my last ten quid, but I know I’m going to get paid at the end of every single month.”

Each food parcel is specially created to each request, containing enough food to last the recipient at least four days, with key longlife staples as well as some treats for kids, and even pets.

Terri explained: “I’ll make sure they’ve got at least two or three big meals, enough to make a lasagne or a Shepherd’s pie. Even jacket potatoes and beans. It’s better than nothing.”

The couple also organised various fundraising events over the summer, raising £280 to go towards buying stock for the parcels, specially adding ingredients for families to make a roast dinner.

She has plans to continue her fundraising efforts later this year, with an event planned at Jump Barnsley on 3 December to raise money for Christmas food hampers to spread some much needed holiday joy. 

Terri admitted she didn’t think her services would be in such demand, saying, “I thought maybe there would be a couple of people that might need us, but it is crazy.

“I get messages from people saying they’ve got to choose between keeping their kids warm or keeping them fed.”

With the cost of living crisis still affecting many people in Barnsley and across the country, and temperatures starting to drop, Terri anticipates the need for services like Feeding Barnsley will only increase in upcoming months, therefore donations are more important than ever.

She said: “People should be aware that everybody in the world at the minute, unless you’ve got thousands of savings, is only two paychecks away from having to use food banks. 

“If you lost your job and you couldn’t find one for two months, it could happen to anyone. If you’ve got a spare tenner, why not grab something when you’re at Asda and chuck it in a food bank, or donate to us. 

“Even if they only have a fiver, people don’t realise how much that can help. It’s going to get worse in December, so we’re going to hopefully help another few hundred people before the end of the year.”

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You can donate to Feeding Barnsley via their PayPal or Amazon Wishlist.

For more information or if you are in need of support, you can contact Terri via Facebook or check out her TikTok to see her in action.