Last updated at 16:54, Friday, 11 January 2013

MEALS made using home-grown produce could provide a vital lifeline for families living in one of the most deprived areas of Barrow, a community worker has said.

Youngsters at the Four Groves Community Association are set to start growing their own vegetables and leaning to cook with them, as well as selling them to fund the project on a rolling basis.

It comes after the Barrow Community Trust gave a £1,000 boost to the young people’s community allotment project.

Nicola Charnley, youth work manager for Four Groves Community Association, which is based in Suffolk Street, said: “Being able to fund a project like this is really, really important.

“The area we’re living in is a really deprived ward. We’ve got single parents who’re on benefits and can’t afford to go out and buy much food.

“So we thought, if we can prepare it on the allotments, they can take it home and they can have a meal.

“Even if it’s the only meal they have in a day, they can have something.

“We get a lot of people come down and they find it embarrassing having to get vouchers to go to the foodbank, so it’s just us encouraging them that they can come here and not need to be embarrassed about it.

“Times are hard and, with things with the government being the way they are, it’s actually going to hit people a lot harder yet.”

Miss Charnley said the youngsters will use their donation to pay for polytunnels to house their produce, buy plants and plant pots and fund the equipment and tools they need to maintain the allotment plots.

She said: “They’ve put a lot of hard work and effort into looking at what they’re going to use it for. We’re ecstatic.”

First published at 16:44, Friday, 11 January 2013
Published by http://www.nwemail.co.uk