- £65k funding allocated across seven community food providers
- Network of warm spaces now available under the banner of #WarmCheltenham
- Local residents encouraged to keep on donating or volunteering
The rising cost of living is affecting everybody in different ways and Cheltenham Borough Council is working with local community organisations to make sure support is there for those that need it.
In recognition of the critical role that our community food providers play in supporting people, and the fact that they are seeing a significant increase in demand for their services at a time that they too are facing rising costs, the council has allocated a series of grants worth £65k across seven community food providers:
- FeedCheltenham
- Springbank Food Pantry
- West Cheltenham Food Pantry
- CCP Food Pantry
- Elim Food Bank
- Cornerstone cupboard Food Pantry
- Lakeside Food Pantry
Cllr Pete Jeffries, deputy leader and cabinet member for finance, assets and regeneration, said: “We know how difficult the next few months are going to be, and that community food providers face rising demands for their services at the same time as they face rising food and energy costs.
“We know that together, these strains will put a lot of pressure on their organisations.
“The grants will help support the organisational resilience of these community food providers and recognise the hard work that is being done to alleviate the cost of living crisis faced by our local residents.’’
Community organisations have also come together under the banner of #WarmCheltenham to create a network of warm spaces now available that people can drop into keep warm if they can’t afford to heat their homes during the day.
So far 10 community venues have come on board and more are being encouraged to join-up.
Alongside the network of warm spaces, a campaign called donate the rebate is encouraging people in receipt of the £400 energy rebate who might not need this support to donate this to the #WarmCheltenham campaign.
Cllr Rowena Hay, leader of the Council said “I’m so proud to see so many community organisations across our town embrace #WarmCheltenham and offer their spaces to people who might not be able to keep themselves warm this winter.
“Supporting our community providers is so important and I’d ask everyone to consider doing one thing to help, whether that’s donating their rebate, cash, food or their time as a volunteer.’’
Warm Cheltenham network members Alison and Linda, Cornerstone Centre Managers added: “We love being a heart of our community so when our community is struggling we need to be able to come together and support one another. Opening our doors to provide a warm, safe space to offer support, hot drinks and a bite to eat is one small way we can do this.”
Working with community partners, the council has also produced a leaflet which will be available from community centres, libraries, schools and GP practices. This will set out where people can get advice and support and how to donate support.
The information in the leaflet is available on the council’s dedicated cost of living support pages, along with energy saving tips and financial support.
See the short film at Springbank food pantry on the council’s YouTube channel.
If a centre or venue is interested in joining the #WarmCheltenham scheme please email communities.partnership@cheltenham.gov.uk
The #WarmCheltenham Places are:
Cornerstone Centre – Oakley: Open Monday 12pm to 2.30pm, Wednesday 12pm to 4pm, Thursday 2pm to 4pm, Friday 1.30pm to 4pm
Cheltenham Elim Church – town centre: Open Tuesday 10am to 3pm
Kings table, Trinity Cheltenham – town centre: Open Monday and Friday 9.30am to 3pm
School House Café – St Paul’s: Open Monday to Friday 9am to 3pm, Saturday 10am to 4pm
Springbank Community Resource Centre: Open Monday to Friday 9am to 12pm
Cheltenham Open Door – Alstone: Open Monday to Thursday 10am to 3pm
Gas Green Baptist Church – St Peter’s: Open 9.30am to 1pm
Holy Apostles Hall – Charlton Kings: Open Tuesday 9am to 4pm
Hesters Way Baptist Church: Open Friday 10am to 12pm and Sunday 9.30am to 12pm
Hesters Way Community Resource Centre *
* The community centre will be available from November as a #WarmCheltenham space. All other members have begun their #WarmCheltenham availability.
