Northampton community hub continues food parcel service that fed up to 250 people a week during pandemic peak

A group of volunteers who have been running a food parcel service during the coronavirus pandemic will continue for months to come.

The temporary food bank is being run from the church hall at St David’s Church, in Kingsthorpe, which is usually home to the 4U Community Cafe that gives people a safe place to socialise.

During the pandemic, the volunteers who run the cafe have adapted and have made, delivered and given out food parcels including surplus fruit and vegetables from local supermarkets.

At one point, the service was handing out 80 boxes a week, which is estimated to have been feeding around 250 people every week.

Vicar at St David’s, Reverend Rachel Hetherington, said: “The community cafe has been running for five years but it had to close in March and we had food left in our fridges and freezers, so we thought we’d make up food parcels for people who are on their own or self isolating.

“The community has really come together and has been working really hard.

“We have about four or five of our usual volunteers who aren’t shielding so have carried on and we have a youth group who have been doing doorstep collections.”

Since the temporary food bank started, the team has managed to secure a grant from the Northamptonshire Community Foundation and has started working closely with the Hope Centre too.

With grant money and donations, the team has been able to give out boxes of fresh food, including cheese, as well as tinned goods and toiletries, which have been of great use to many people.

Rachel added: “For a lot of people who are on their own or families on low incomes, it has been a real life line for them.

“Some people have been really affected by the pandemic, so you can really see the relief on their faces when they get a delivery and we had some people in tears saying they were on their last bit of food.

“Demand for doorstep deliveries is not so great now. As people are coming out of lockdown we are encouraging people to come and collect the boxes.

“But we see that there is still a need to continue it for another couple of months. We will review it in September.”

Collection of food parcels is available on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday mornings from the church hall.

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