‘You should all be very proud of yourselves’

Bath Square Meals Project staff attended a virtual civic reception hosted by the Mayor of Bath Manda Rigby.

Guests included members of the Freemasons’ Committee, local charities Mercy in Action and Sporting Family Change and staff from Bath & North East Somerset Council, who have all contributed to the project over the past year.

During the last 12 months, the various charities have distributed more than 25,000 two-course meals to vulnerable families.

To fund the work Bath and Somerset Freemasons have raised more than £60,000 from within their own organisation, money that will enable the project to run until the end of May 2021, delivering a further 7,500 meals.

Malcolm Toogood, from the Freemasons Committee, said that when their regular meetings were suspended by the pandemic last March, Bath Freemasons looked for another way of continuing their normal charitable activities.

With a fully-equipped commercial kitchen standing unused, they decided to provide frozen readymeals to vulnerable isolated adults and underprivileged children in Bath and the surrounding area.

Their chef, Ben Hayward, created recipes for wholesome meals, but delivery was an issue, as many local Masons who would normally volunteer, were themselves vulnerable in the circumstances.

So they contacted David Dixon, of B&NES community engagement team, who put them together with the two local charities and the council’s own children’s centres in Foxhill, Keynsham and Radstock.

The mayor responded: “What you have achieved is truly remarkable. On behalf of the city of Bath, I am humbled and honoured to thank you. It demonstrates what can be done when we all work together.

“You should all be very proud of yourselves.”

Jimmy Deane of Sporting Family Change said “The frozen meals scheme’s been fantastic as it’s enabled Sporting Family Change to support local families who are struggling most with the Covid-19 pandemic. They’ve had access to healthy nutritious meals without having to leave their homes. Many families have said it has made a huge difference, reducing anxiety and stress levels as they have stayed safe in their homes, plus giving the feeling they are not facing the pandemic alone.”