Wed, 19 Nov 2025

Wed, 19 Nov 2025 'I volunteer at the foodbank that helped me'

Lisa Parkinson started working for the Big Food Project in Blackpool after using the service when she was diagnosed with breast cancer during the Covid-19 pandemic.

* Lisa Parkinson started volunteering at the Big Food Project in Blackpool after receiving help from them when she was diagnosed with stage three breast cancer during the Covid-19 pandemic.
* The project, which redistributes surplus food to 125 organizations across Blackpool, Fylde and Wyre, helped her family through a difficult time.
* Parkinson said that using the service made her feel "stigma" about receiving help from a foodbank, but she was welcomed by staff at the project's warehouse in Blackpool FC on Tuesdays.
* The Big Food Project provides 50-60 families with food each week from this location.
* Parkinson has been cancer-free for five years and now volunteers at the project as a way of "giving back" to those who helped her family during their difficult time.
* She said that she is sad to see people struggling to pay for food, even those in full-time employment or receiving pensions.
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