How Liverpool In Arms volunteers team up with city restaurants to feed the homeless

Volunteers are teaming up with Liverpool restaurants and coffee shops to help feed homeless people in the city.

Liverpool In Arms makes hot meals, soups and sandwiches to be handed out twice a week from tables outside Primark on Church Street.

And, thanks to the generosity of restaurant and café owners, frontline volunteers are also able to give away everything from pizzas to fresh-baked cakes and pastries to anyone on the streets or in need.

Liverpool in Arms was set up four years ago by one woman who distributed clothing and food donations. It became a registered charity in November 2022 and now has teams of drivers, cooks and outreach as well as a core team who plan and coordinate.

Debby Askew and Nicky Cohen, who are both retired and live in south Liverpool, have taken on the task of organisation, including recruiting, doing the necessary checks on health and safety and insurance, and drawing up rotas. They also make sure everyone has all the ingredients they need for each night’s menu.

Along with the fantastic regular work of their own cooks, they say having the support of the city’s food businesses has made a big difference to what they’re able to provide.

“It’s mostly independents supporting us and they’re so generous,” says Debby. “We pride ourselves on giving people really nice, freshly-cooked food because it’s not just about having something hot to eat, it’s about dignity as well.

“Bidfood in Speke give us the majority of our meat, and we get 100 bread products a week – usually barms, loaves and crumpets – from Warburton’s, every Monday. We don’t need that much so we give whatever we don’t need to St Mary’s Pantry in Garston. 

“We get sandwich fillings from supermarkets, including Hunts Cross Asda, Morrisons Belle Vale, Sainsbury’s Woolton, and Morrisons in Speke, and just before Christmas we were given a big donation from Jacobs so we had car boots full of biscuits and crackers!”

Nicky says although bakeries and coffee shops give surplus cakes and pastries, some make batches fresh to donate and pizzas are cooked especially for Liverpool in Arms.

“We’ve had a few pizza restaurants approach us when we’ve been out on Church Street and ask how they can help,” she adds. “La Musa in Garston Village has been giving us pizzas for our Wednesday nights, and Franco Manca in Bold Street has recently come onboard on Mondays. They make them fresh and then our drivers or outreach team collects them.”

Amalia Italian is another regular supporter, along with Fika coffee shop, Bean There and Lunko bakery just off Lark Lane. Nashville Cluck provided lots of portions of loaded fries for a festive treat the Monday before Christmas.

Liverpool in Arms sets up its tables outside Primark on Mondays and Wednesdays from 7pm, whatever the weather.

Soup, says Debby and Nicky, is always the most popular, but homeless people are given plenty more and the team can also provide things like sleeping bags, tents and warm clothing.

Everyone who goes along to the sessions is given a bag, they start with soup then at least two or three choices of hot meals like casseroles, pasta or chilli, plus sandwiches, pizzas, crisps, cakes, and hot drinks. 

The team of volunteer cooks makes between 60 and 80 meals per night, collected in insulated boxes and dropped off by drivers, but however many homeless people turn up nothing goes to waste.

“Numbers can vary from 40-80, often depending on weather,” explains Nicky. “If it’s pouring down people don’t want to come out of their tents because they want to try and stay dry.”

“If we have anything left at the end of the night, it goes to a hostel in town,” adds Debby. “We make sure nothing ever gets wasted.”

Liverpool in Arms applies for community grants but relies on donations too from individual supporters via its Total Giving page. It also has an Amazon wish list.

To find out more about how to support Liverpool In Arms click here. Or follow them on Instagram here.

Read more features from The Guide Liverpool here.