Charity gears up to provide hundreds of hot meals

Volunteers are preparing to serve hundreds of free meals in Sheffield over the festive period.

Homeless and Rootless at Christmas (HARC) will be offering hot food three times a day at Victoria Hall, in Norfolk Street.

The venue will be open between 08:30 and 14:00 GMT from 25 to 29 December to provide meals as well as a place to keep warm.

Rose Durant CEO at Victoria Hall said in previous years the project had supported more than 100 people each day, adding that Christmas can be "an especially challenging time for those with no home or who are struggling to heat their homes or buy food".

Ms Durant added: "Some people would literally be living on the streets, and if we weren't open that's where they'd stay for the week."

She said the project also offered "a clothes bank, a toiletry bank and some good entertainment throughout the day".

HARC was founded in 1989 by a group of local people who "couldn't bear the thought of anyone spending Christmas cold, hungry, or alone".

It said the annual Christmas effort had developed into a "lifeline, run entirely by volunteers and supported by the generosity of Sheffield residents".

One service user, who asked to remain anonymous, said: "When I have been to HARC over the Christmas period, it's a place where I can socialise with my mates eat a nice breakfast and lunch and have a chat to the amazing volunteers that work at the HARC.

"It also stops me being alone at Christmas."

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