Emergency Food Appeal - South West Cornwall

Food for Families, Penzance CIC, provides critical support to people suffering severe food insecurity in the West Penwith area (Penzance to Land's End - but we also don't turn anyone away if they are outside this area).

We are the last line of support for many vulnerable people - not just families - including people who are employed and unemployed, retired, disabled, elderly and young families. Food poverty does not discriminate. Our clients are hungry and cannot afford the basics to eat. New clients regularly ring up having not eaten for several days - the emotion showing in their voice is heartbreaking.

We urgently need more support. We are entirely run by volunteers who do emergency deliveries of both fresh and frozen food for people with immediate and severe needs, and open twice a week for people to collect emergency food supplies. Everyone is suffering from the impact of the cost of living crisis and so food donations have dropped significantly, just as demand has risen. The priority now is to raise the funds to get through Christmas providing the basic support that clients need. This isn't an appeal for mince pies and Christmas cakes - it's to buy enough rice, pasta, pasta sauce, tinned foods, cereals to keep the clients from going hungry.

In the last 8 months, our clients have doubled, and we are now feeding approximately 100 people a week, with new clients almost every day. Food For Families requires no voucher or formal referral - but it receives referrals from all public services across West Penwith.

There is a growing stigma around food charities; an assumption that people are spending their money on non-essentials and expecting others to cover the essentials for free. This could not be further from the truth. These are desperate people in desperate times.

Food for Families would really appreciate your support.

Julia, Food for Families Founder