Hungry families struggling to afford food now have an extra day to fill their shopping bags at a food project in Ulverston thanks to vital funding from The Cumberland Building Society.

The Ulverston Food Project is now open two days a week – on a Monday from 4-5pm and on a Friday from 3-4pm – 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 their Community Food Members in Cumbria and some in Lancashire.

FareShare supplies 30-50 trays of food twice a week to the Ulverston Food Project, ensuring a good choice for customers at incredible value for money.

“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.

“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 haven’t sold and often has weeks, if not months, before they hit their sell by dates.

Without Fareshare the surplus food would be sent to landfill – so this scheme is not only a lifeline for local shoppers but for the environment too.

The Ulverston Food Project has evolved over the years from an environment enterprise, with a mission to cut food waste, to a vital lifeline for families struggling to survive in the pandemic and now the cost of living crisis.

“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, was blown away by the enthusiasm of the volunteers when she visited the project:

“It is clear that this project is meeting a vital need in the community and the place was buzzing when we were there,” said Rebecca.

“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 Kinder kind of Kitchens funding now means this important project can open twice a week .”