Three months on and charity offering ‘free food for everyone’ has formed its own town centre community

It has been three months since a charity at the heart of Northampton town centre last spoke to the Chronicle & Echo – and the coordinator says their own “little community” has formed in that time.

Jedidiah UK provides unsold fresh food from supermarkets to the public and operates with the motto ‘let no one go hungry’.

Ahead of opening its latest branch in Northampton, the charity gave food parcels to more than 5,300 families in Hertfordshire, Bedfordshire and Greater London.

What started as the founder going out of her way to provide food parcels during the pandemic, has now progressed to opening a growing number of pantries for anyone to collect free food.

The charity was founded by Cynthia Tooley MBE in 2020, and this year she saw the opportunity to expand to Northampton to combat food poverty.

You can visit Jedidiah in George Row from 12pm until 12.30pm on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays, and 9am until 9.30am on Saturdays.

The charity now operates a ticket system and anyone who plans to attend should arrive at around 11.55am to receive their ticket – which guarantees them food.

To meet the demands of the Northampton community, Jade Greaves was hired to coordinate the branch and shared that working for the charity has allowed her to “find her place in life”.

Over the first few days the charity was open, the number of people queuing outside trebled and they now support between 25 and 30 visitors each day.

When she last spoke to this newspaper, Jade stressed Jedidiah is not just for the homeless and said their service proved “very popular” over the first month.

Jade agreed the charity continues to go from strength to strength, with them seeing both returning and new individuals.

Now the word has spread about Jedidiah’s important work, Jade said: “We’re seeing people from different walks of life.”

Having worked hard to build their presence in the town centre and on social media, the coordinator is pleased to see they are being recognised and recommended.

Jade abandoned the first come first serve rule, as people were arriving hours in advance to secure their spot in the queue.

Though people were disappointed they would no longer be able to chat to those they had made friends with in the queue, Jade encouraged them to meet over at the benches outside All Saints Church – which they now do.

One man, whose tent was set alight in Abington Park earlier this year, took the opportunity to socialise with other attendees. After being pointed in the direction of support, he now has a roof over his head.

The branch currently has two volunteers from the University of Northampton on board, who Jade says are always eager to help in any way they can.

Though they have been a great support for Jade, their volunteering will end next month and the branch is still looking for willing volunteers. Anyone interested should email [email protected].

Jade says Jedidiah is “always open and grateful” for donations. They can accept tinned and dry goods, and are particularly in need of female sanitary products.

Any individuals or businesses interested in making a donation of goods can find more information on Jedidiah’s Facebook page here.