A community centre in Sheffield is providing free food boxes worth up to £40 for families in need this February half-term.
The Beighton Lifestyle Centre has been operating primarily as a pop-up food bank since the first lockdown in March 2020, helping around 60 families a week with food support.
Steve Edmonds, 64, volunteers as the manager of the centre. He said: “The plan is that there’s enough food in one of these boxes to feed two kids for up to 5 days. There’s around £40 worth of food in each one. A mixture of tins, packets and fresh fruit and vegetables.
“We’ve got 220 children receiving food aid from us this holiday and we’re also looking after a hub on Westfield and they’re taking food for up to 150 kids.”
The majority of the meals provided have come through the Yorkshire branch of FareShare, a charity which aims to fight hunger and food waste.
The project has also had help from local branches of Morrisons, Asda, Co-Op Food and Argos, as well as donations from local schools and residents.
The centre has given around half a tonne of produce to the Sheffield Inclusion Centre which helps children who have been excluded from school.
Mr Edmonds added: “I would have thought this would have been more of a council thing to do rather than a charity or a volunteer group having to sort it.
“Specifically, from the council, we’ve had very little. They’ve not been great. Our local councillors in the village have provided funds from the ward pot and they’ve been helpful with that. But the council itself has not, despite us having reached out to them for support.
“There are so many people in need. There are self-employed people whose jobs have just disappeared. There are people on furlough who’ve lost 20% of their wages and that 20% might have been crucial for food to those who are living hand to mouth each week.”
The food boxes will be ready to collect on Monday 15 February between 10am and 1pm from the Lifestyle Centre in Beighton.
We are awaiting a response from Sheffield City Council regarding Mr Edmonds’ comments