Boost to scheme for needy
Neal Swettenham in Melton Vineyard's current store for Storehouse PHOTO: Nick Rennie
A CHURCH will be able to provide food and toiletries for more disadvantaged people in Melton after being given the use of a disused town centre pub as a storage facility.
Melton Vineyard plans to spend £3,000 to £5,000 refurbishing the two bar areas of the Fox Inn in Leicester Street to house its supplies donated by members, friends and local businesses.
The contemporary Christian church, which established a ministry called Storehouse to help those in immediate need of food four years ago, has been using a cramped cellar building in its King Street premises to store non-perishable food and toiletries.
It hopes to start using the Fox Inn by early next year at the latest after agreeing a two-year lease with poverty relief organisation Henry Storers’ Charity, which plans to redevelop part of the old pub site to provide almshouses.
Melton Council has also provided a building in the town to act as an initial sorting and storage centre.
Neal Swettenham and his wife, Eluned Owen, the church’s senior pastors, are delighted to be able to expand the activities of Storehouse.
Neal said: “This will enable us to offer a wider range of items to needy people - not just food and toiletries but also household things like pots and pans, baby clothes, bedding and children’s toys.
“Our work can now impact on many more disadvantaged families in this area.”
Storehouse provides a bag of high quality, non-perishable food and toiletries as a free gift to families and individuals on low incomes, on state benefits or those struggling in the current recession.
Items are distributed via referrals from a number of local agencies, such as MYST Lodge and Westbourne House, Melton Council, social services, Latham House Medical Practice and Clockwise credit union.
“It is sad that there is a need for us to provide services like this in Melton,” said Neal. “In the four years since we started we have given out more than 1,000 food bags and we expect demand will continue to rise.”
Eluned added: “Some of the people we help are those who are between benefit payments and can’t afford food.
“We had one woman who was feeding her child but not herself and another person who had not eaten for four days.”
Some local businesses have set up food boxes to collect from employees and customers and anyone wishing to donate food or toiletries can bring them to Storehouse HQ at The Source, 54 King Street. You can call (01664) 851830 or email storehouse@meltonvineyard.org
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Weather for Melton
Thursday 23 May 2013
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