The Pakistan Welfare Association - Mutual Aid Food Willesden

The Pakistan Welfare Association (PWA) is a registered charity which puts helping the community at the centre of its mission. As a project under the PWA, Mutual Aid Food Willesden (MAFW) supports Brent people and families to live healthy lives with fresh, nutritious food and household essentials. Once a week we provide free emergency aid boxes to local residents, from our base at the Pakistan Community Centre in Willesden, while volunteer drivers deliver to elderly people and to people with disabilities. In the last year we’ve provided a week’s essentials to a Brent resident in need over 10,000 times, and the numbers coming to the Centre asking for help are rising. Brent is one of the most ethnically diverse places in the UK with pockets of severe economic deprivation. Many new residents lack local ties and family. We aim to offer culturally-appropriate support to all, for instance by hosting specialist advice sessions on issues like mental health and housing. --- We are a group of committed volunteers drawn from Brent’s many communities. The PWA provides us with a base and supports our fundraising, but we have a separate identity, and all the money you donate will be used by MAFW.  MAFW grew out of the need for mutual aid at the start of the pandemic. It has continued as a food bank ever since, and today more local people are suffering due to the cost of living crisis. Our guests’ needs have been assessed by Brent Hubs, a council-sponsored referral network which issues vouchers, but we also respond to emergency requests. We work in close partnership with other voluntary groups, distributing basic store cupboard essentials on behalf of SUFRA, and linking into the Brent Food Aid Network. --- As well as our wonderful volunteers, we rely on support from donors, grant-givers and not-for-profit distributors to offer the fresh produce, toiletries and baby products which make MAFW special. We have received help from Goods for Good and from Brent Council, and benefit from gifts in kind from many businesses. But we rely on fundraising to purchase essentials such as vegetables, cleaning products or baby formula, and to pay our rent. Can you help us make a real difference to our community?