City food club says it needs £20,000 a year to survive

A food club providing families with a weekly shop for just £4.50 said it was at risk of closure.

Peterborough Food Club, run by the Family Action charity, said it needed £20,000 a year to keep going after a donor pulled out.

Service users have described the club, which gives shoppers a week's supply of fruit, vegetables and other items, as a "big help".

Family Action said it provided an essential service to people in Peterborough and was in "desperate need" of support to continue.

Peterborough Food Club has about 100 members, made up of an estimated 400 individuals from around the Dogsthorpe and Welland areas.

Each member pays £1 a year to join, and every week can pick up a food box worth £15 for a fraction of that price.

Much of the food would be near its sell-by date or provided by a local farmer, but it would always be fresh and safe to eat.

Sally Grieff, Peterborough Food Club's service manager, said the service meant "everything" to people in the area, which covers some of the most deprived parts of the city.

"People tell us they couldn't live without it," she said.

"It's not just about the food but it's also about the support and advice that we give."

Mrs Grieff said she was "very worried" about the future of the club, adding: "We're looking at £20,000 to keep it going."

Christina and Lee Lavery use the service every Friday after first hearing about it during the summer.

"The first time we were nervous and we thought they'll look at us and think, 'Well you don't need feeding', basically," said Mrs Lavery.

"But honestly these ladies are absolute treasures."

Mr Lavery said the service was a "big help" as they previously found it much cheaper to buy unhealthy food in the supermarket rather than fruit and vegetables.

"Food prices have gone right through the roof, it's horrendous," he said.

Mrs Lavery added: "The more rubbish food you eat, the unhealthier you're going to be, so it's going to be a drain on the NHS."

Food clubs tend to work slightly differently than food banks, as service users pay a small sum for their shopping and they were usually membership-based.

Cambridge City Foodbank has opened three food clubs in the past two years for families who regularly used its food banks and were at risk of what they termed "chronic poverty".

Stephen Thornton, its chairman, said: "The aim of the food club is to provide more than just food but money advice, a warm welcome, and the opportunity to engage in other local community activities."

He said the £5-a-week service is available on a referral basis, but that there was "no shortage" of people in Cambridge experiencing financial difficulty.

"What we provide is warm, friendly, without any sense of shame and people keep their dignity," said Mr Thornton.

A government spokesperson said mass dependence on services such as food banks was "unacceptable", adding that it had recently extended support for families through its Household Support Fund until March 2025.

The spokesperson said: "Alongside this, our 10-year health plan will shift the focus from treatment to prevention."

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