The Peterborough Evening Telegraph
Firms support food supplies
BGL and Morrisons team up with Pastom Farm Community Foundation to provide food hampers for those in need
Morrisons and BGL Group have teamed up with a Peterborough charity to provide food hampers for those in need during lockdown.
The donations were made to Paston Farm Community Foundation, a charity that has continued to support its local community in Paston as much as possible since the start of the pandemic.
The charity, which operates out of an old farm building which was developed into a children’s centre, provides services and support in response to the local community’s needs and has space for groups to hire.
In March, the decision was made to close the community cafe but every Wednesday,
between 11:30am and 1:30pm, the building is open to serve as a community fridge and supports about 50 families a week.
Many of the donations come from local shops and are delivered by fellow local charity Food for Nought, which aims to redistribute food waste from businesses as much as possible to prevent it going to waste.
The donations included a range of essential food items and were provided from the supermarket’s Lincoln Road store and were enough to create 26 food hampers to help feed more than 60 children.
Centre manager Louise Roe said: “During lockdown we open our centre weekly on Wednesdays between 11.30am and 1.30pm for our community fridge, which is food provided to us from local shops and farms and delivered by Food for Nought.
“This offers people a chance to collect fresh vegetables and fruit, but also a chance to talk to another person. We have people who only leave their homes for this and there being a friendly face to help and chat really helps.
“Another big thank-you to BGL and Morrisons on Lincoln Road for helping us provide some more food hampers earlier today; 26 hampers to be exact, feeding more than 60 children!
“We know January can feel like the longest month of the year, and even more so at the minute, and so we feel very honoured that we were able to help ease things for some local families.”
One of those to receive a hamper added: “You have no idea how much this will help us.”
Throughout lockdown, Paston Farm Community Foundation is also supporting parents who are homeschooling by running online lessons and support groups for parents. These are run by local teacher and mother Katie Howard and called Katie’s Kitchen School.
For more information about their activities, visit: facebook.com/pastonfarmcommunityfoundation.