Ulverston food project will operate another day after funding

The Ulverston Food Project is now open two days a week - on a Monday from 4pm-5pm and on a Friday from 3pm-4pm - with a huge variety of fresh, frozen and tinned produce available for those in need. 

The project, which is based in the old St John’s Ambulance building in The Ellers, is being supported by The Cumberland’s Kinder Kind of Kitchens initiative which is donating £250,000 to FareShare Lancashire and Cumbria in a bid to help tackle food poverty. 

This generous grant is enabling FareShare to offer funding to every one of its community food members in Cumbria and some in Lancashire.

FareShare supplies 30-50 trays of food twice a week to the Ulverston Food Project. 

“We ask families to pay £5 per household a week if they can afford it,” said Linden Grieve, founder member of The Ulverston Food Project.

“That £5 pays for around £50-£60 worth of shopping with a rich variety of goods on offer for the 60 families who currently use our Food Club. And if families can’t afford £5 we do have council funding which may help.” 

It is the variety of food that makes all the difference says Linden, who, along with her two children Aurora, 10, and Saul, 8, had to rely on food banks when Linden separated from her partner four years ago. 

Linden Grieve, founder member of The Ulverston Food Project (Image: Submitted)

She said: “We were incredibly grateful for anything we were given at the time but not having a choice was difficult with two young children. I remember once being given a can of mushroom soup which my children just wouldn’t touch - but if it had been a different flavour I could have made a meal out of it.

“There is a lovely choice to suit all tastes at our Food Project. Last Christmas we were donated 120 turkeys with all the trimmings available too. It’s not just about eating to survive - it’s about feeling healthy and nourished. It’s about self-worth.

“Struggling to afford to feed your family can send people spiralling into a vicious circle of anxiety, isolation and poverty. We want to lift people out of that, building a community of people supporting each other.”

On top of the Fareshare supplies, Linden and her team of volunteers collect 1.5 tonnes of food "waste" from local supermarkets including Booths, Aldi and Marks and Spencer.

Fareshare redistributes the "surplus" foods that have not sold and often has weeks, if not months, before they hit their sell-by dates.

“We started with 5 households and that quickly grew to 25,” said Linden. “Then Covid hit and we suddenly had 120 households to feed. We were a group of 6 volunteers, living and working in a bubble, determined to help those most in need.”

The project now boasts 80 regular volunteers and is looking to the future with plans to develop into a micro-community centre with a warm hub, children’s art club and cafe.

Rebecca Gibson, The Cumberland’s cluster manager for Barrow and Ulverston, said: "It is clear that this project is meeting a vital need in the community and the place was buzzing when we were there,

“It would be easy to imagine a subdued, sad atmosphere when you think of why the project is there - but it’s the opposite of that. Everyone who is helping does so with a smile on their face. It’s an inspiring place to be and we’re proud that our funding now means this important project can open twice a week.”