This project is a revealing look at what homeless people eat

When his mother died, Paul was made homeless after he was forced to leave the home they shared. He has no immediate family besides his dog Bella. “I’d end up begging just to get food and nine out of 10 times people would buy [my dog] food. She needs it. I make sure she’s fed. She’s my priority. I’d rather go without than see her go without. But it never happens here anyway. She never goes without here!”

Following a short prison sentence Ross lost his accommodation. Since moving to the shelter he has achieved catering qualifications and hopes to be a full-time chef. “I should have took more pictures… I got silly pictures of things like crisps and that, I should of took a bit more care. I dunno why I took a picture of Haribo! “Most of my time is in the kitchen and it’s good because even on the days when I don’t have to go in I can still go in and keep myself busy, keeps me occupied, instead of going away with the lads and having a drink, you know what I mean? “It is teamwork. We do have a lot of bitchiness going on as well. We have the morning cooks moaning about the afternoon, the afternoon moaning about the morning. It does your head in because at the end of the day we should all be working together. “We’ve got so many youngsters here and they’re like climbing the walls, you know. They don’t know what to do with themselves. I done my training... then the next course I was helping training them. Look how far I’ve come… It gives them a buzz as well. In catering there’s always options.”

Jim ran his own plumbing business but a lack of work forced him to seek support. However, difficulties in coping with the benefits system meant he lost his home. “I love homemade soup because of the way my mother used to make her homemade soup. I looked forward to it because it was all nice fresh vegetables, meat, everything really and it was really nice. In the kitchen we occasionally make stew with dumplings in but you still can’t beat your own mum’s stew. “I enjoy my food. We didn’t have a lot of money in the house but we always ate well and ate the right food. We didn’t eat any rubbish… I was eating the right things… “Some of the people that are here in the dining room! It’s just because of my age and perhaps brought up in a different environment, attitude, whatever. You didn’t waste food. You ate everything. I hate seeing food wasted. I do the washing up and I see plates of food come back and that really annoys me. What I throw away is ridiculous. I hate to see food wasted, because there are other people out there that haven’t got enough. “This morning I’ve been making pasties. I enjoyed making those pasties, well they weren’t proper pasties, not like me mother’s pasties…”

Health problems meant Jeffrey lost his job and a relationship breakdown followed that left him homeless. “I suppose I’ve never sort of thought about taking pictures of food. I sort of say a history of a meal, I went to the materials used in preparation and then all sorts of different desserts. And at the end I sit down with a nice cup of tea. Your meal is complete then.”