A community initiative will help families in Plymouth struggling with food poverty this Christmas.
Plymouth Feed a Family at Christmas is a community organisation creating hampers filled with everything a family needs to create Christmas dinner.
The plan is to create both fresh and ambient hampers to ensure that even those without an oven or hob will be able to have a special dinner for Christmas Day.
Volunteers will be collecting donations from December 2 once the current lockdown is lifted.
The project was the brainchild of Emma Jones from Belliver who with a few friends last year created 10 hampers for those in need.
This year Emma decided to do the same thing with an initial idea of creating 25 hampers. The response from the public and local businesses was outstanding and it quickly became apparent that they would receive enough donations to create at least 100 hampers – and possibly more.
With food poverty rising 220% across the city since March, there is growing support for the community to come together and support those in need.
Emma has brought together a team of 10 passionate and motivated volunteer administrators who have been busying themselves collecting donations and organising raffle prizes for a forthcoming raffle to raise funds for the hampers.
Hundreds of people have donated and set up drop off points in their area of the city allowing donations to be collated and making helping accessible.
Anyone wanting to donate or collect donations, can get in touch with the group and they will then connect them with local volunteers.
Emma said:
“We have had an outstanding outpouring of support from local businesses offering donations and help with deliveries closer to Christmas.
“We are so humbled and blown away by how amazing Plymouth has been in supporting this project and we are really excited about how much of an impact we can make to those in need.”
Organisations supporting the initiative include the Co-op, Morrison’s, Tesco, Andy’s Butchers, Veg Box Fresh, Eddies Eggs and Potatoes, Ross Elsey Construction, Almuth Design+Print, Embroider Me and many more.
People interested in getting involved please should visit the Facebook page Plymouth Feed a Family at Christmas, Instagram @plymouthfeedafamily or via email Plymouthfeedafamily@gmail.com.
It includes a full list of what is currently needed, as well as ways to contact the group to offer help in any other way such as delivery.
All of the volunteers who are collecting donations are wearing appropriate PPE and maintaining social distance; drop-offs can be contactless upon request. However, they are asking that all donations are kept until December 2 to reduce any non essential travel for the team.
