190 Thank Yous!

We want to say a huge thank you to Waitrose and John Lewis and Partners for some very generous donations. Their big-hearted gifts have included two grants and car loads of food. We’ve been able to provide food packs to a staggering 190 families. That’s 190 times that a family has not had to worry about how they might put food on the table! Each week families encountering food insecurity receive an ingredient pack free of charge delivered to their doorstep. Each pack contains enough ingredients for a large family meal, plus a recipe card and a link to a video tutorial on our YouTube channel. The delivery also allows staff and volunteers to have a friendly chat on the doorstep, something that was particularly appreciated during the isolation and gloomy days of lockdown. Recipes have included chicken, broccoli and sweetcorn pasta bake and vegetarian lasagne – hearty and nutritious meals that the whole family can enjoy together. These meals have made a very significant difference in the lives of some of the poorest families in our city. In particular, we have been able to use the donations to develop new family cookery projects in Beeston, a substantially deprived area, where even before the pandemic hit, some 43% of children were living in poverty. That figure will have been made considerably worse of course, as families with little to fall back on have faced job losses, bereavement and significant food poverty. Thank you 190 times over!