Since 2020 our Stork Support service has been working with families in crisis, supporting parents and babies with the essentials; food (formula milk support), nappies, wipes and toiletries, plus wraparound care (information giving, Advocacy, signposting) and extras such as toys, clothes and equipment.
Working to the 1001 days and Best Start in Life frameworks, we work with other professionals to identify the needs of a family and provide timely, practical support to prevent challenges from escalating. Our approach is friendly, direct and personalised support to take care of parents and children.
We work with families who have different cultural backgrounds and experiences and we always try to be adaptive and responsive to their needs. For example, in 2023 and 2024 we were able to provide food support to some of our regular clients who felt unable to access regular food banks because of the lack of culturally appropriate food. We partnered with a local African food shop to give vouchers to 20 families who attended our hub and they were subsequently able to feed their families fresh food.
Whilst our service is relatively simple; we are doing more than just providing items for families. Our baby bank protects the brain architecture of the smallest babies by giving relief to parents who have multiple points of deprivation going on – worrying about debt, housing and employment for example.
Removing stress from the home can make parents able to be more responsive to their children, which in turn ensures children grow to be physically and emotionally capable.
It is often more than just the youngest sibling we are supporting; some families have up to three children under 5 years old.
Our staff at our Salford hub take great pride in making sure each family has personalised, targeted support and the right intervention and information at the right time. For example, someone might come in needing emotional support as well as their physical items and then taking the time to listen to a client might lead to other interventions such as crisis grant applications, advocacy, referrals or signposting to relevant agencies such as Woodstreet Mission, Citizens Advice, or Early Help. We take the time to get to know our families who attend our hub – and once we have helped them access their essentials, we encourage them to attend our Stay and Play session, our Stork Boost course, or our social events through BOOBS.
We are trusted by referral partners such as Homestart Manchester, Citizens Advice, NHS Foundation trusts, Early help professionals and social workers.
“Poverty and the ongoing cost-of-living crisis continue to have a significant impact on the families we support. Many are struggling to meet basic household expenses, with rising costs for food, energy, housing, and other essentials placing considerable pressure on already limited budgets.
As a result, families are often forced to make difficult choices between essential needs, and many are unable to afford items that are important for their children’s wellbeing, development, and participation in everyday activities. We are seeing increased levels of financial hardship, stress, and anxiety, which can have a wider impact on family relationships, mental health, and overall wellbeing.
The demand for practical support has remained high, with many families relying on services such as yours to help ensure their children have access to the essentials they need. For many of the clients we refer, this support helps alleviate immediate pressures and reduces the risk of children going without basic necessities”
Kimberley Pierce
Martenscroft Nursery
“Poverty and the cost-of-living crisis are having a significant impact on the families we refer. Many are being forced to make extremely difficult choices about what they can afford, often prioritising essential items for their children over their own needs. I have supported families who skip meals themselves so they can ensure their child has clean nappies and enough milk.
This level of financial pressure has a profound effect on overall wellbeing, increasing stress, anxiety, and impacting mental health.
Visit from the Stork is an excellent service that helps families meet basic needs, providing vital support. Providing essential items for children has a significant positive impact. It helps to ease the financial pressure on parents, allowing them to better manage their household needs. At the same time, it ensures that babies have access to basic necessities such as adequate feeding and clean nappies, supporting their health, comfort, and overall wellbeing.”
Nikki Ashton
Outreach Worker, Harpurhey Sure Start
We are the only baby bank project in Greater Manchester to consistently provide formula milk and infant feeding support, following UNICEF BFI standards.
We do not rely on donations from the public, instead using our funding to buy vouchers/stock for our hubs. This allows us to ensure each client receives the correct stage formula milk when needed. We offer breastfeeding support through our trained peer supporters for mums and babies in Salford and make sure any clients requesting infant feeding support in Manchester get referred to the relevant infant feeding team.
We follow the UNICEF food insecurity guidelines by using a voucher-first model for giving formula milk support with evidence based information about ingredients and prices of formula milk from the Infant Nutrition Trust. All clients requesting formula are given a standard £10 supermarket voucher and are treated equally and without judgement.
It also means we can issue e-vouchers quickly in one-off, emergency situations, and enables us to support statutory services such as Children’s Services with clients in situations such as fleeing Domestic abuse.
The voucher system also ensures we maintain a neutral, non-branded approach and that families know that all brands are nutritionally equal. This respectful, informed, and non-commercial approach aligns well with UNICEF’s BFI principles of informed choice, non-promotion, and support for all feeding types.
We are members of the GM Baby Bank Network, a new sub-group of the School readiness board, part funded by GMCA to influence policy and improve outcomes for children in Greater Manchester.
We are members of the UK Baby Bank Alliance, a membership organisation to raise the profile and awareness of UK baby banks.
Any parent and child/children with a City of Manchester or City of Salford postcode who need nappies, toiletries and/or contribution to formula milk is welcome to access our Stork Support service. We do not currently cover Wythenshawe – there is a separate project in this area. You need to have a child under 5 years of age who needs nappies, we do not provide incontinence care.
If you are a parent, please contact a professional such as a midwife, Health Visitor, Family support worker, social worker, Early help team, housing officer or even nursery or school staff to make a referral to Visit from the Stork.
If you don’t have a contact such as these, please find your nearest Family Hub (Salford) or Sure Start Centre (Manchester) and ask the team to make a referral.
We have a stock of vouchers / nappies at our partner collection hubs at Sure Start centres or Family Hubs across Manchester and at our own hub in Salford. You will need to collect from your nearest hub once we have accepted your referral. Whilst collecting your voucher you will be greeted by staff who can support you with attending groups, crisis funding applications, sorting out benefit claims or signposting to other agencies.
We can also provide (subject to availability) clothes and equipment but these must be requested by your referrer and picked up from our Salford hub.
Depending on your circumstances, we can provide a voucher for the cost of essentials up to 3 times in 6 months, or ongoing support may be offered subject to a needs assessment by a professional.
We are an early intervention service – not an emergency. As it can take up to a week for the referral to be processed (for example if submitted on a Thursday, we will process it the Tuesday after), it may take up to a week to receive your items or voucher. Please don’t leave it too late to ask for help.
We have a limited stock of Safe Sleep bundles for expectant parents and equipment such as prams, highchairs or toys. These are not guaranteed and you may be placed on a waiting list. Your referrer will be notified if we are able to provide.
If you are a first time parent and have Universal Credit, you can access the Sure Start Maternity grant, which is £500 towards equipment for your first baby.