'£1 meals changed my life – now I'm cooking them'
BBCYoung people using a charity that provides meals for £1 say it has changed their lives.
The Warren Youth Project, in Hull, offers the cheap lunches every weekday, alongside mental health counselling and advice on housing and employment.
Lewis Parker began attending the centre three years ago and said without its support he might have "fallen down the wrong trap".
The 22-year-old now, who now helps to prepare the food, added: "I enjoy getting to see people having a warm meal and socialising."
More than 200 young people are fed each week thanks to the £1 meals.
Lewis, who has a "sous chef-type role" in the kitchen, said the scheme could be vital for young people facing financial hardship.
"To have it down to a quid, it makes it affordable," he explained.
He has also noticed a shift within himself since attending the Warren.
"Three years ago I hated people, I didn't want to speak to them.
"When I started to come, I've grown in confidence.
"The Warren was a big part of that."
The Warren works with young people aged between 16 and 25 and receives funding from a variety of sources.
The £1 scheme is supported by the charity FareShare, which is funded by Comic Relief and supplies millions of reduced-price or free meals for communities across the country.
JJ Tatten, the chief executive of the Warren, said the charity was only able to operate with funding from organisations such as Comic Relief and FareShare.
"Without them, the whole thing falls down like a house of cards," the 57-year-old said.
He described securing funding as "an endless sort of fight".
"We are, like every other charitable organisation, spinning a multitude of plates and they are all precarious.
"They're all at risk of falling."
Tyler Darnbrook, 18, said he was often the first through the doors of the Warren each day.
"It's a safe place for me to go.
"It helps me out when I don't have money and if I can't afford food."
He has also helped to prepare food and said he felt proud to serve it to his friends.
Debs Murray, 59, started working for the charity as a chef a year ago. She trains young people in the kitchen.
"We're coming here with a few ingredients and they turn it into a meal and that just makes me happy," she said.
"Without these places, I think a lot of the young people will have slipped through a net.
"This gives them a bit of hope."
Brad Egan, 22, has been visiting the centre since he was 20.
He said Deb's food had kept him coming through the door and he would struggle to eat without the £1 meals every day.
"She makes sure that we're fed well and we've got all our veg in us," he added.
Lewis is now looking forward to the future after his participation in the project helped him with work experience in the construction industry.
Since accessing support, he said he could visualise his future and hoped to apply for an apprenticeship.
"It has changed my life," he added.
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