A SCHOOL and a community initiative have joined forces to help deliver more than 300 lunches to vulnerable families.
Originally set up to help Norreys residents over the summer holidays last year, The Grub Club has been offering food donations from caterers during the coronavirus pandemic. It runs out of Norreys Church.
Earlier this month, it teamed up with pupils from Ludgrove School in Wokingham to deliver more than 300 lunches.
Lisa Hookway, from the Grub Club, said: Through my link and partnership working as Community Engagement Officer for Wokingham Borough Council my manager was contacted by Ludgrove School with an idea to make and deliver meals to families, who attended The Grub Club in summer of 2019.
“I have been working with Sarah Humphries from Ludgrove School to identify families who would benefit from receiving these meals twice a week. We have managed to identify 35 families with a number of over 300 meals being produced and delivered.”
The Grub Club has really moved on since it launched to help families who usually have free school lunches.
Ms Hookway said: “The original project ran two days a week for six weeks and offered not just food on the day but also activities and additional food supplies from Fare Share which the families could take away and use themselves.
“During the course of the project we supported around 100 people each week.
“This was the little acorn that then grew into the oak tree that is now the Grub Club Food Hub. At the start of the Covid 19 situation the Grub Club team were approached to offer their expertise in the area of food supply to families in Wokingham – conversations were had and meetings held about who might need help and how we could address it.”
And, as we’ve reported in recent weeks, it has received support from supermarkets including Morrisons, Waitrose, Marks & Spencer and Lidl, as well as a visit from Reading Football Club.
“Cook! in Rose Street also got on board with the project and kindly donated 50 ready meals a week,” Ms Hookway added.
“We have received great support from Reading Football Club too as well as many other individuals and other contacts.”
It has since been supplying food parcels to more than 100 families every week and has also been helping Wokingham Foodbank to source 50 fresh fruit and vegetable parcels.
And financial help has come from Wokingham in Need.
