Community larder helps 117 people in one day
Libby Thomas/BBCA woman who runs a community larder said the organisation has seen a "record number" of customers and recently served 117 people in one day.
Jo Haywood first went to the Daventry Community Larder in Northamptonshire as a shopper and for the past two years has volunteered to run the service.
The larder is a subsidised shopping experience where people pay an annual £10 membership and then either £5 or £10 for their weekly shop.
Haywood said she has seen more working people use the community facility to buy essential items such as fruit, vegetables, bread and meat.
The service operates from the Southbrook Community Centre in Daventry every Wednesday with the help of 25 volunteers, Haywood said.
She added that they normally have between 80 and 90 people visit the larder during a session.
Daventry Community Larder"Most of us started out as shoppers so we can empathise," Haywood said.
"We run three sessions, one for vulnerable people, one for the general public, and one for post-work customers who are in employment and in poverty.
"Anyone is also welcome to pop in for a chat.
"We're about combating social isolation, not just providing food during this financial crisis," she added.
Daventry Community LarderHaywood said unlike food banks no-one needs a referral to shop at the larder.
"We're here for everybody, we don't discriminate.
"We're seeing a lot of working poverty, people who have their own business, we see people on benefits, we have newborns to people in their 90s.
"We're seeing record numbers at the moment, we had 117 people through our door the other day, which is a massive jump," Haywood said.
The food for the larder is donated by the charity FareShare, which redistributes surplus food and diverts it away from landfill.
"We do a good service, we get tins, packets, jars, chilled goods, frozen items," Haywood said.
The group said it was committed to keeping what was leftover from the larder out of landfill and any perishable item that would not last another week goes to a Long Buckby farm, in Northamptonshire, to feed its animals.
"We had a lovely video sent to us about the cows being hand-fed stale baguettes, everyone loved that video," Haywood added.
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