On the front line, on the bread line

Hundreds of food parcels being delivered in east Cavan every week since lockdown

“We actually came across houses with up to 20 people living in them. They were foreign nationals and there were people starving in houses. Many of them had been working in part-time employment, like car washing, but that all stopped for up to two months during the start of Covid.

“There were also 16 people living in a house. In these cases only some of them were getting social welfare. One family had six children and no income.”

These are some of the grim revelations of a Bailieborough man involved in the delivery of hundreds of food parcels and ‘meals on wheels’ in the area every week since the start of the pandemic.

Padraig McBreen is employed by Cavan County Local Development and is a director of Bailieborough Development Association based in the Bexcourt Centre.

“It is amazing some of the cases we have encountered on our rounds and through referrals,” he remarks.

TheCeltaccompanied volunteers on their rounds last week to see first hand the hidden underbelly of poverty experienced in some homes in the area – hardship that has been exacerbated in the months during and since lockdown.

Mr McBreen feels that, prior to lockdown, some of the issues faced by families, including child poverty, were being masked by schemes such as breakfast clubs and school lunches.

The food parcels for families in need are assembled at the Bexcourt Centre, which is an outreach facility operated by Cavan County Local Development.

The initiative commenced on March 28 and little did volunteers think it would still be running 29 weeks later.

Mr McBreen has been bowled over by the generosity of people assisting the food appeal.

“In one instance a message was relayed to Store Street Garda Station from the Embassy belonging to the country some of these people were from. Gardaí in the station actually did a whip-around and a cheque was sent to Virginia Garda Station to buy food for them. When you see things like that happening, there is hope for humanity yet. There are good people in the world,” said an optimistic Padraig.

“We were giving them some food at the time, but it was not enough. There were other issues as well, including rent to be paid and they were going to be thrown out of the house,” he added of the particular case.

Mr McBreen added that so many people living in such a confined space was also a “recipe for disaster” in the context of the spread of Coronavirus.

There was a similar case in the Shercock area also in relation to an overcrowded house.

At the start of April and into the month of May, there was an appeal for milk formula for babies and nappies. Cavan Children and Young People’s Services Committee (CYPSC)gave funding towards those struggling families and IKEA made a large donation of bed linen and towels.

“Outside the town of Bailieborough, we have come across people in very isolated areas living in bad conditions and with little income. It is amazing some of the cases we have encountered,” continued Padraig, who is also a trained counsellor.

The other disturbing aspect of the Coronavirus fallout, surmises Padraig, is that some people who were providing home help for vulnerable people living on their own suddenly withdrew from the service.

“Many of the people doing home help were working through agencies and suddenly those agencies prioritised the work in nursing homes and hospitals.

“Suddenly those home help works were taken away from people who really required regular home help with cooking, self care and house cleaning,” he outlined of the reality volunteers encountered on the ground.

The new Meals on Wheels initiative by the team at the Bexcourt Centre has provided a lifeline for those people without any home help now.

There are over 200 people on the list and each person receives one box delivery per week which contains seven pre-cooked dinners at a cost of €5 each.

The dinners are prepared and packed in Swift Foods in Lough Egish and each nutritious meal has a shelf life of eight days and can be reheated in the oven or microwave.

Feedback from those ordering the dinners has been most positive, according to Padraig. “We even got microwaves and ovens for those people who did not have those items,” he added.

Lea McDonnell, manager, Bailieborough Development Association, told theCeltthat people were happy to volunteer; it gave them a sense of purpose.

“Since the start of this Food Cloud idea, it has been great for us as a group in the early lockdown, people were not seeing anybody. We were all able to come here on a Thursday morning and get the boxes of food ready – it was good for our mental health too,” she said.

Iris O’Callaghan, a colleague of Padraig, explained how she was dispatched from the Cavan County Local Development base at Corlurgan Business Park in Cavan to lend a hand.

“I take the food that is delivered to Corlurgan and bring it out to Bailieborough and I also collected the fresh bread donated by ‘Pat the Baker’ early on Wednesday mornings,” said Iris.

“I love it. It opens your eyes when you see the vulnerable people out there and the help that is required. There are people coming forward looking for help now and the numbers are growing,” she added.

“We see a lot of young vulnerable people in the 20 to 30 age group and their living conditions are horrendous. Sometimes the conditions are compounded by mental health issues.

“When we have extra packets of meat, we hand them over to them and they are delighted,” continued Iris.

Gabriele Varauskaite was working in the Bexcourt Centre prior to lockdown. “When the Food Cloud idea commenced, I returned here to help out. It’s been great to pack food for people in my own estate,” she said.

Alma McCabe from the Cavan 365 Project, based in the Bailieborough Courthouse, said that Padraig came knocking at their door.

“We jumped at the opportunity. We all have a great relationship here and it was also great to get to know the community and work alongside the gardaí each week,” she said.

“We are working with about 20 young people and were established in October, 2019. We cover Bailieborough, Virginia, Ballyjamesduff, Mullagh, Shercock, Kingscourt and Cootehill,” added Alma.

Sharon Ivers is also with the Cavan 365 Project and volunteered to pack food boxes for delivery.

“We put fliers into the parcels some weeks and got new referrals out of it,” she said of the added benefit.

Wonderful

Padraig said the Food Cloud initiative is a wonderful example of an inter-agency and cross-community effort. He thanked all those involved - from those who donate food to those who pack and deliver the parcels.

In particular, he mentioned food producers who regularly contribute including Pat the Baker, SuperValu, Tesco, McCarren Meats, Liffey Meats and Lakeland Dairies.

He also thanked personnel from the Civil Defence, An Garda Síochána,Teach Oscail, Focus Family Resource Centre in Killeshandra, Cootehill Town Team, Ballinagh Food Hub volunteers, Bailieborough Development Association, Cavan County Council Emergency Help Line team, Cavan PPN, Irish Red Cross, Cavan branch of the Irish Wheelchair Association, all the public health nurses, senior community dieticians, Family Support workers, the St Vincent de Paul and St Bricin’s College in Belturbet for their support and efforts to date.

For more information, or to make a referral to the food cloud initiative, contact 049-4331029 or email info@ccld.ie