Member Article

Development firm helps feed people in crisis this Christmas

A York based property company is helping to support people in Lincoln who are struggling to feed themselves and their families. S Harrison has joined forces with Lincoln Community Larder and kick-started its donations early this month by delivering advent calendars for local children to enjoy. The firm is also making two large scale donations for Christmas. Andrew Wharton, Project manager from S Harrison explains: “Since we became involved in a project in Lincoln to bring a new Travelodge to the city centre, we were keen to find a charitable initiative that we could support as we pride ourselves on supporting the local communities in which we are working. “Our involvement with Lincoln Community Larder is in its early stages but we have been really impressed with the work they do.” Since 1989 the Lincoln Community Larder has been a registered charity which aims to relieve poverty in the Lincoln area through the provision of basic food and toiletries to those in need of short term help for whatever reason, including physical and mental health problems. Alan Wilson is the Chairman of Lincoln Community Larder. He says: “We issue larder vouchers to a variety of agencies in the area who then refer people to us who are in need of assistance, and we give them three days’ worth of food for each person included on the voucher.

“It’s a non-profit, charitable organisation helping people who have difficulty purchasing enough food to avoid hunger. Every day people in the UK go hungry for any number of reasons ranging from redundancy, to receiving an unexpected bill or simply being on a low income, and we provide emergency food parcels to local people to help them in times of crisis. “All of our Trustees, operational and food distribution staff are volunteers who work tirelessly to ensure there is a constant stock of supplies throughout the year to meet the needs of those in crisis in our community.”

Lincoln Community Larder partners with a wide range of care professionals such as Voluntary Centre Services at City Hall, YMCA, Framework, General Practitioners, Health Visitors, Families Working Together, City of Lincoln Benefits Advice and many others to identify people in crisis and issue them with a voucher. Alan adds: “We rely entirely on donations from schools, churches, businesses and individuals who give us non-perishable, in-date food or cash. Large collections take place as part of Harvest Festival celebrations and supermarket food drives, but it’s really beneficial to get additional support from companies like S Harrison, especially at this time of year which can be such a struggle for so many people.” S Harrison is donating a number of items that are in short supply including jams, UHT milk, hotdogs, a variety of tinned fruit and feminine hygiene products. Work started last month on Lincoln’s new 127-bedroom Travelodge, just off Tentercroft Street, after S Harrison appointed local construction firm R G Carter to carry out the 12 month build programme.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Emma Mortimer .