Funding boost helps free meals partnership keep cooking

A new partnership that provides free meals to local people in need has received a vital funding boost from the Duchy of Lancaster Benevolent Fund.

The partnership, led by Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council, is delighted with its successful bid for £8,000 to help it continue its work, providing cooked meals to people in the most need.

The Duchy of Lancaster Benevolent Fund is a registered charity set up with the consent of Her Majesty The Queen to benefit causes across Lancashire that support their local communities.

In Blackburn with Darwen the money will be used to help the Crisis Response Food Group, set up during the Coronavirus pandemic by the Council, to reach hundreds of vulnerable people who are in food poverty or who struggle to cook for themselves.

Since April the group has been working together to distribute over 800 meals a week to hundreds of vulnerable people including families, carers and older people.

The group is made up of local voluntary, community and faith sector organisations, including Blackburn Food Bank, Darwen Food Bank, BwD Healthy Living, Community & Business Partners, Benefit Mankind, Masjid-e-Tauheedul Islam Community Care, and Blackburn Youth Zone.

The meals are cooked in the kitchens at Tauheedul Islam Girls’ High School and Westholme School with support from Westholme’s catering provider Thomas Franks. Blackburn Youth Zone and Blackburn Rovers Community Trust staff help to distribute the meals around the borough.

Councillor Mustafa Desai, Executive Member for Adult Services, said:

I’m delighted that officers have successfully bid for this money from the Duchy of Lancaster Benevolent Fund. It will help this fantastic partnership continue to provide vital support for people who have been unable to feed themselves properly during the current crisis.

This project has been built on kindness and compassion to offer help to people who need it. My thanks goes to all the local partners and the Council team who are making it happen.

Newground has supported the project with a donation of £5,000. Westholme School’s catering provider Thomas Franks Foundation donated £2,500 raised through an appeal on Just Giving. Other suppliers have donated food for the meals, and Westholme and TIGHS have provided their kitchen facilities and staff.

Viv Davenport, Westholme School’s Commercial Director, said:

This has been a truly fantastic cross-community initiative. So many groups of people have come together in the shared spirit of kindness to create real momentum, helping those most in need. It’s been a genuine privilege for Westholme to be involved.

Amina Modan, Assistant Principal at Tauheedul Islam Girls’ High School, added:

TIGHS has a long track record of supporting vulnerable people in the local community and we are very pleased to be involved in this initiative. We have observed first-hand the struggles that many ordinary people have faced as a result of the coronavirus crisis and we are delighted to be able to offer our resources to help those in need as part of the Star Coronavirus Appeal.

Cheryl Ellement is a carer for her 87 year old father Norman Jackson. When lockdown began, Cheryl was told to shield at home, which caused her worries about how she would continue to support her dad. When she found out about the food partnership, she was relieved that Norman could have a cooked meal every day, and she could protect herself and her dad by staying at home.

Norman loves the meals and sits at his window every day waiting for the BwD Carers Service volunteer calling with his delivery. Apart from phone calls from Cheryl, this is the only social contact Norman has at the moment.

Cheryl Ellement said:

I am so grateful to the Carers Service. The volunteers are really nice and it has made a big difference to my dad and me.

To find out more about the meals available to vulnerable people in Blackburn with Darwen through the Food Crisis Response Group, contact the BwD Help Hub on 01254 588111.