Landlady at popular pub in town named as a 'Rose of Northamptonshire' for feeding those struggling during the pandemic

The Swan and Helmet pub landlady Teresa McCarthy has been named as a Rose of Northamptonshire for starting a food bank distribution service for those struggling in Northampton during the Covid crisis.

The award, which was open to the public to send in their nominations, recognises and expresses thanks to groups or individuals who have worked tirelessly to keep their communities safe since the pandemic began back in March 2020.

On winning the award, Teresa said: "I am very proud for our whole entire team who has worked very hard. Initially when we started we didn't realise the need for the food bank but it was exceptionally overwhelming. The early days showed that lots of people were struggling.

"How far we have come in such a short of space of time is unbelievable. I feel very honoured to be part of a huge team of really dedicated, genuine, hard-working people."

Teresa's McCarthy-Dixon foundation, which is a registered charity started by the landlady and her husband during the pandemic, also won a Rose of Northamptonshire award.

The charity will this week hand out 50 laptops to children who need them while working at home, as well as offering a printing service at the pub for pupils and a doorstep service to interact with people who may be feeling isolated at the moment.

To get in touch with Teresa and the McCarthy-Dixon Foundation and ask for support, contact [email protected]

Background

Teresa, who has been the landlady of the Swan and Helmet for 14 years, was informed that she had to close her pub in March when the nation was brought to standstill by the sudden announcement of a lockdown.

This, however, did not stop her from taking action when she saw families in her community struggle to cope as they were forced into isolation.

She said: “My plan was to do something for the community. I could see people were struggling and the first lockdown was just so shocking - I don’t think anyone knew what to expect.”

Teresa, along with her husband and team of hardworking volunteers, transformed the pub into a food bank which proved to be a lifeline for many struggling families. This started with collecting monetary and food donations from regular pub goers to put together bags of essentials.

Demand became so great for her service that she applied for a grant from the Northamptonshire Community Foundation and for council funding from Northampton Borough Council. Both grants were approved, which then allowed her to bulk buy items from supermarkets such as Aldi to kickstart the pub food bank.

Teresa said: “Looking back on the first lockdown, it was extremely impossible to get large quantities of food. Supermarkets were selling out of products quickly, caterers were going really low on stock. We had to buy really large packs of food and break them down. At one point, I couldn’t even get my hands on any pasta. I had to go to crazy lengths to get food.

“Within half an hour, I said to my husband: ‘maybe I’ve made a big mistake.’ We thought we were going to run out of food by that evening and it just exploded from there.”

Teresa and her team of volunteers are believed to have helped over 30,000 people since March. These include school children, children leaving care, the families of those in the probation service and many community clubs.

At the start of lockdown, they helped to support 29 local schools in providing food for children; now, they are supporting a total of 45 schools on a weekly basis.

Services carried out by her volunteers throughout lockdown also include home and garden makeovers, monthly affordable haircuts from £8, food delivery and even cookery lessons, which they have been offering twice a week since July when they officially became a registered charity.The team even started a food larder earlier this year, where people can purchase eight food items for £5.

A Monday club was set up at the Swan and Helmet to help those who were feeling exceptionally lonely and isolated during the lockdown.

Speaking about the Monday Club, Teresa said: “You can be any age and you can live anywhere in Northampton - you are welcome to the Monday Club. You will get lunch, we have live music - it's just a very informal and safe environment for people to socialise.

“It has been a huge success and people feel safe coming here. I could see there were lots of elderly customers afraid to come out. It was like a safe environment with social distancing out of pub hours. They are different clientele from usual pub goers, so there is a very different atmosphere.”

When Teresa was asked what inspired her to kickstart the foundation, she said: “This has always been a community pub. There’s a huge range of people who use my pub and they have always been such a caring bunch - sometimes you’ve got to give back to the community.

“I knew there would be a lot of people out there struggling - I have a child with additional needs and I give a lot of time caring and looking after her. I go months and months without leaving the house at a time and now she is getting older and I just feel like I want to do something now and again. That’s where it all came from.”

Teresa and her team of volunteers see “great things” ahead for the foundation because they believe that there is a strong need for help in the community with regards to food affordability, wellbeing, fixing and decorating property or simply just needing someone to talk to on the phone.

Teresa added: “I want to thank everyone who has helped us along the way, donated and fundraised. It is a real community-feel project we have done and we have met so many wonderful and lovely people along the way. That's why the foundation is so special. It doesn't matter what you do have or what you don't have, everyone was happy to help people. A range of people from all nationalities working together.

“There's a lot of people I didn’t even know, who wouldn't use pubs or go to dances and I wouldn't have met them but now I know so many different people - even with our larder, it attracts a huge volume of people and we see new faces all the time.

“If anyone else does need support, please do not hesitate to get in touch. We will help everyone and everybody we can. There is no no job too big or too small. We can and we will do it; it’s all for the good of the community."