A sharp suit, a warm voice, and a life spent in service: meet Tom from Altrincham, our front-of-house dynamo who turns a weekly affordable food shop into a community ritual. We dive into his unlikely route from military discipline to infection ...

The cost of living makes quiet heroes out of neighbours, and today you’ll meet two of them. Tracy and Tina welcome us into the New Life hub in Billingham, one of the many bread and butter hubs in the North East. What starts as a shop quickly be...

The gap between everyday life and mental health support can feel wide—especially when money worries, stress, and isolation pile up. We bring that gap down to walking distance by teaming up with NHS Manchester Talking Therapies to offer free, pr...

A hidden social club down a narrow alley in Loftus isn’t just a building; it’s a beating heart where food turns into friendship and scattered villages become a community. We sit with Julie from Tees Valley Rural Action to unpack how a Covid‑era...

What if your water company felt like a neighbour who actually shows up to help? We sit down with Anglian Water’s customer team to explore how WaterCare turns support into real savings, from clearer bills and accessible contact to debt relief, c...

The most dangerous lender in your life might look like a friend. Catherine from Stop Loan Sharks joins us to reveal how illegal moneylenders hide in plain sight—at school gates, in workplace chats, and even on Social Media and why the first loa...

A single night can upend a life. Paula opens up about the assault that left her husband Steve with a brain injury and a stroke, and how their steady, working‑class routine collapsed into uncertainty—savings drained, work gone, debts calling and...

Money worries don’t pause for the holidays, and neither do we. We sit down with Matthew Sheeran from Money Wellness to explore how the debt landscape has shifted from credit cards to priority bills like rent, council tax and energy, and why buy...

A tenner doesn’t go far when milk costs more at the corner shop and the drive to a cheaper supermarket eats your fuel. We sit down with Sam and Jackie, two mums who turn surplus food into dinners, neighbours into friends, and hard choices into ...

A warm room, a friendly queue, and equal bags for everyone might sound simple, but they’re the building blocks of a neighbourhood that refuses to let people go hungry or feel ashamed. We sit down with Gemma from St Luke’s in Wythenshawe to expl...

A postcard view can hide a quiet crisis. On the North East coast, we meet a village split between seaside tourism and year-round struggle, where high prices, long bus rides, and limited choice make a weekly shop feel out of reach. We sit down w...

What happens when a third-generation family brand refuses to cut corners, even as retail tightens the screws? We sit down with Fran and Paul from Porky Whites to unpack the unglamorous truth of supermarket shelves, price wars, and the tug-of-wa...

A mixed bag of food can feel like a puzzle — unless someone shows you how to turn it into dinner, conversation, and community pride. We sit down with Sue, a powerhouse hub leader in Maidstone, to uncover the reality behind a town often labelled...

Food insecurity isn’t just about the weekly shop; it’s about dignity, stability, and the confidence to plan ahead. We sit down with Georgia from Comic Relief to explore how Nourish the Nation with Sainsbury’s is helping food clubs become commun...

What does life look like when the pub lights go out for good? We sit with Dino, a veteran publican whose seven-day workweeks ended in lockdown, and follow his path through empty cupboards, mounting debt, and the quiet bravery of asking for help...

What does it mean to “do everything right” and still come up short? We sit with James, a support worker caring for adults with learning disabilities and autism, to trace the real maths of modern poverty: long shifts, term‑time childcare gaps, e...

A family finds a way through a system that too often blocks the very basics. James and his son, Braith, talk candidly about becoming homeless, paying monthly to store the things that make a house feel like home, and the long wait for essential ...

Ever felt that knot in your stomach when the phone rings or another brown envelope lands on the mat? We go straight at that feeling with the Money and Me team from Mind in Salford, unpacking how money stress and mental health lock into a viciou...

A front room in Crewe, a panting old dog, and a mum of three-year-old twins who can turn one cooked chicken into three meals without breaking the bank. We sit down with Belle to unpack how an £8.50 membership with The Bread and Butter Thing str...

Helen Thornton welcomes us into Hillside High School in Bootle, where the stark reality of educational inequality meets unwavering community spirit. As both a teacher and Bread and Butter Thing volunteer, Helen offers a compassionate, ground-le...

From the bright lights of theatre to the humble act of sharing food with neighbours, Garfield Allen's story shows how The Bread and Butter Thing touches lives in unexpected ways.Garfield, a freelance theatre producer with 40 years of ex...

Ever wondered what happens when a 125-year-old family farm meets a modern food charity? The magic that unfolds is changing how communities access fresh, nutritious food across Britain.This episode takes us behind the scenes with Jon Ham...

"Food is a luxury." These four words from Betti, a British-Asian single mother in Newcastle, cut straight to the heart of Britain's cost of living crisis. In this powerful episode of A Slice of Bread and Butter, we meet a woman whose resilience...

What happens when your life savings vanish overnight? For Karen, this devastating reality struck when a £150,000 investment in her daughter's business venture collapsed due to contractual issues with their building. This financial catastrophe a...

"I'm a worker, not a charity case." These six powerful words from Tracy, a 47-year-old single mother working at IKEA, capture the essence of a profound conversation about financial struggle, resilience, and the hidden battles many ...