Free Loaves on Fridays: The Care System As Told By People Who Actually Get It

This book is all about the care system, and it's written by people who have experienced it first-hand.

Free Loaves on Fridays is an anthology of stories, poems, reflections and letters by nearly one hundred people who have experienced care, which aims to challenge worn-out stereotypes. This collection gives voice to diverse experiences including foster care, adoption, kinship care and semi-independent living, among others.

Headlines written about care often entrench negative ideas and dominate the narrative, leaving people who have experienced the system with nothing but crumbs. This anthology is an opportunity to redirect the dialogue and present a window into a world that has been overlooked for too long.

Free Loaves on Fridays presents a spectrum of joy and sadness, laughter and tears, love and loss, and reminds us that bread tastes so much better when it’s been chosen.

In support of Article 39 and the Together Trust

'A raw and emotive account of the real care sector and the most important book you will read in 2024. Absolutely gripped from the first page. It is more than just a book’ Chris Wild, author of The State of It and Damaged

'An emotional journey that will make you cry and laugh. But most of all understand the reality of our care system and why it absolutely must change' Emma Lewell-Buck, MP for South Shields and former social worker

'An incredibly poignant and powerful book . . . This is a must-read for every social worker, we must hear and learn from the voices of the care-experienced community, and influence and change practice and systems for the better’ Maris Stratulis, the national director for the British Association of Social Workers