“Kirkby Lonsdale is an affluent, rural market town but when Covid happened, we discovered a community that was in food poverty.
“We started a local phone hub to match up those isolating with volunteers who would collect shopping and prescriptions as needed. We were also concerned about the effects of the ongoing lockdown in our tourist town on service workers.
“The nearby food bank asked if they could set up an informal food bank so we sorted one thinking we could take any leftover food to bigger food banks elsewhere, but we found there was a need.
“People don’t necessarily need it regularly, usually at the end of the month or if they get out-of-the-blue bills, but the social side of what we offer is just as important as the food.
“Now we use FareShare’s food to make a meal for around 60 people each week – as food costs have gone up, The Cumberland’s grant has allowed us to keep this as ‘pay as you can’ so it remains available to everyone.
“FareShare L&C provides the mainstay of our food. The quality and quantity of food is phenomenal. It also allows us to reach more children and families.
“We do food bags through the holidays for families on free school meals too, and we run a community cinema during the school holidays offering a meal and film. It’s the families we’re thrilled to help. The Cumberland’s grant has supported that too.
“We’re really seeing this cost-of-living crisis bite now. It’s impacting communities everywhere.”

Janet Bradshaw – Kirkby Community Cupboard