Feature

A Plymouth charity with the belief that ‘no family should go hungry’

Provide Devon is a Christian charity providing food to people in poverty within Plymouth and the and other community organisations. It continues to match the need for food with the surplus food within the surrounding area. community without compromising on quality. It began in 2015 under the banner ‘Community Food Steve Bailey, manager, said: ‘We only work directly Share’ as a result of surplus food donations made to the with referral agents, off ering anonymity to families Soup Run. Headed up by Plymouth woman Maddie and individuals in need of food. We off er a rapid Maddison (pictured below right), she linked the food response as the people we feed will often have been share scheme with local primary schools to see if any experiencing food insecurity for some time.’ families would appreciate the Within just 13 days in food - it quickly became clear February this year the charity how great the need was. had given out 160 parcels. A few years later, in Requests can be made due December 2018, after to fi nancial poverty, mental hundreds of food hampers health matters, bereavement had been supplied across or a sudden change in the city, the charity Provide circumstances including Devon was born, with the being discharged from aim of giving individuals hospital. immediate relief from food The crisis food packages insecurity while they explored typically includes milk, butter, longer term support through eggs, cheese, bread, fruit, appropriate channels. vegetables and long life items Using a combination of fresh such as rice, soup and cereals. produce and donated surplus food from retailers, a requested food parcel is usually provided to the charity’s referral agents within 24 hours. “ A dedicated team from Provide Devon work around the clock to help people in crisis ” When possible the charity will also add a selection of donated toiletries. ‘The situation is hard as the scales of people in need in Provide Devon works closely with education providers Plymouth is huge,’ added Steve. from pre-schools through to universities, as well as the ‘We want to provide meaningful, nutritious meals NHS, British Red Cross, churches, charities, housing with a positive outcome. Within the parcels we also associations, Plymouth City Council, debt relief agencies include recipes so that people have the opportunity

to make their own meals. We hope that these recipes might help people try something diff erent with ingredients they may be unfamiliar with.’ The charity may only be three years old offi cially but it has been established for seven years thanks to Maddie’s passion to make sure no one in Plymouth goes hungry. Maddie has been team leader for Plymouth City Soup Run for several years. Alongside her passion for supporting the homeless, she also saw the great need in Plymouth of families struggling to feed their children. ‘I was involved in the soup run in Plymouth and I found that a lot of families were coming in in times

of difficulty and that really concerned me,’ said Maddie. ‘I approached my church, Hope Baptist Church, as I saw there was a need and I started Community Food Share with just one shelf in the larder for food donations. We have grown from there due to the size of Plymouth and the people that need us - and in 2018 the charity Provide Devon was formed and we moved from the church into our unit at Burrington Way.’ Funding for the vital work that the charity provides is through donations, fundraising and applying for grants. It takes between £30-35,000 each year to keep its work going - but food donations are dwindling due to the economic climate. People who may have been able to donate food or money have found themselves needing to save pennies to feed their own families. One support worker said the service was a lifeline to the women they support. Aerron Sargent, a Pause Practitioner, said: ‘Using Provide Devon is a lifeline for the vulnerable women we support. Our women often must choose between paying their bills or putting food on the table. Provide gives them the opportunity to ease the worries around those decisions. The Pause team and the women we support are very grateful to have a service like Provide Devon.’ Social worker Alice Royal added: ‘The cost of living has shot up dramatically and it has made it really challenging for lots of people in society and there are an increasing number of individuals and

families who do not get the luxury of having good meals or buying things they need and are regularly going hungry because they do not have the finances to buy the bare essentials. These cases used to be in the minority but nearly every case I see is facing hardship. It is very sad to see cases where people have to choose between putting gas on their meter or having dinner. ‘Provide Devon has been an amazing resource for people who are facing hardship, for whatever reason, with a reliable service in place where food can be accessed for people who need it.’. n Lindsay Turpin

“Within the parcels we also include recipes so that people have the opportunity to make their own meals. We hope that these recipes might help people try something different with ingredients they may be unfamiliar with. ”

For more information visit:

www.providedevon.org.uk