Food 'lifeline' needs new home as demand rises

When many people's thoughts are turning to Christmas gifts and festive food, a charity in West Sussex is feeding those who need it most.

But Littlehampton Community Fridge, which has seen local need rise in five years from an average of 50 people to 180 each time it opens, is in need of help itself as it searches for a new home.

Currently based at St James Church Hall, which is set to close permanently, the charity is becoming busier but says it needs to find a new venue.

Alison Griffiths, MP for Bognor Regis and Littlehampton, says she is "very concerned" for the Fridge, which has "become a lifeline for many families", and is urging local businesses to help find a solution.

Session supervisor Hayley Rees, who volunteers for the charity, said she was "astounded" to be told it has saved 96 tonnes of food from landfill between January and November through its partnership with FairShare Sussex and Surrey.

Every customer receives five items at the sessions, which run five days a week, and the charity also operates an "on tour" service to other villages.

Ms Rees told BBC Radio Sussex: "Absolutely anyone can come to us, it doesn't matter who you are, where you come from, everyone's welcome.

"We also work with the youth probation service. They've got youngsters that may be committing crime.

"A lot is because they need food in their household, maybe they're not being fed for whatever reason," she said.

"They're coming in and putting in some voluntary work with us and then they earn themselves a box or two of food."

As the charity gears up for its busiest time of the year, Ms Rees said: "One Christmas Eve we had 7.5 tonnes, one year we had 500 turkeys and another we had three.

"It's very random. But we're open and we're here to give it away."

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