A GROUP of charitable organisations in Okehampton have established a new food foundation to expand food support services as families continue to battle with rising prices.

The new food foundation will be run from business owner Rebecca Green’s cafe, 3 East Street, and will be open from the end of January to offer a wider range of food services to those in need and offer more sustainable food options along with cooking lessons and shopping advice.

Mrs Green said: ‘There’s so many more things that people need. So we’re a new food support service, not a food bank, open five days a week, and we will have a gourmet charity shop that funds it. Basically, we will be an immediate response point providing emergency food and we’ll also redistribute excess food and provide the cooked ready meals as well.

‘So if someone is unable to access the food bank is capable of cooking and wants fresh veg and fresh things then we take in the food from other places and redistribute it.

‘We are going to buy in bulk refillables so that we can give people a bottle to last them for however long. But that also means that other people can come in and buy from us which makes it sustainable.’

The new Okehampton Food Foundation will also provide residents with cleaning supplies and offer recipe and shopping plans for those wishing to learn to cook or manage finances.

Mrs Green added: ‘We’ve also recognised the need for things for cleaning products. If you’ve got a loss in income, we feel we cover the people who who fall through the gaps. If you’ve got a sudden loss in income and you’ve got to buy a new bottle of washing liquid that’s a big expense. Washing up liquid, shower gel and shampoo are the last things you buy because you feed your kids first, and cleaning fluid can be up to four quid a bottle.

‘I have spoken to a lot of other people and they all said it’s the one thing that they would love but can’t afford, particularly sanitary products.’

The initiative grew following a public meeting in November last year, organised by Mrs Green who also runs the Okehampton Community Kitchen, in which members of the community gathered to discuss ways of tackling food insecurity in the area.

Mrs Green described the meeting as very successful as numerous suggestions were raised to provide help to those struggling, including community pantries, recipe packs and shopping plans which provides families with the skills to create a healthy weekly shopping with minimal expenses.

As the new project is set to start, Mrs Green is now refurbishing her cafe in order to offer extra facilities and is calling out for volunteers to help her run the foundation which will be organised by the Okehampton Community Kitchen.

The community kitchen has been particularly active over the Christmas period offering Okehampton residents the chance to socialise at its well-attended Community Christmas which included events on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and Boxing Day for those who might otherwise have found themselves isolated or in need over the holiday.

Other Okehampton residents have also provided support for those struggling at Christmas including Future Bodies gym owner Josh Ware, who raised thousands of pounds for the Okehampton Foodbank in order to provide foodbank users with the ingredients to make their own Christmas dinner.

All this comes as both the foodbank and the community kitchen reported a rise in the number of residents using their services as they struggle to afford necessities due to the ongoing cost of living crisis.

A public meeting will be held at the end of the month for anyone wishing to get involved or find out more information about the Okehampton Food Foundation. Mrs Green can also be contacted on 07806 770926 or email at [email protected].