Christmas meals, winter warm packs and hampers help spread kindness
We are giving thanks for the thousands of volunteers helping spread kindness and essential supplies by providing food hampers and community meals in warm spaces this Christmas.
Among them more than 60 volunteers from seven parishes in Wigan are busy packing more than 500 Christmas treat hampers (pictured), for local people referred by schools and food pantries.
Preparations are also underway in Wigan for two Christmas meals set to feed mere than 200 people at St James’ church in Poolstock and St Nathaniel’s church Platt Bridge, from 11am-4pm on Friday December 23rd.
Among some of the other community meals being prepared across the Network of Kindness area are FoodCycle Liverpool at the Salvation Army in Old Swan at 7pm on December 15th and St Cleopas Church Dingle, at 7pm on December 21st.
The Vauxhall Centre, Frontline Centre, Squash Liverpool are all serving meals on Christmas Day - see below for details, and the Friendship Cafe Place of Welcome in Southport is hosting meals on December 18th & 25th.
“It’s an opportunity to spread joy, and hope and share God’s love.”
Both Tom's Pantry at St James' church Poolstock and St Nathaniel's Pantry at Platt Bridge will open for an extra day on Friday Dec 23, so people can do a last minute shop for essentials as well as attend the meals.
The volunteers are working with Jed’s Pantry at St Stephen’s Welly, Christ Church Pantry, Ashton Pantry at St Thomas’s, and with St Francis and St Barnabas churches to prepare the treat hampers, including mince pies and chocolate, expected to reach 500+ households.
Rev Mark Wade, Hub Leader for Church Wigan’s West Hub said: "We are noticing a big difference compared to last year, there are more people around and there’s a bigger need. Tom’s pantry have seen a 60% increase in the number of people coming in this month.
“We hope this will encourage people, and for those families who may not know about the food pantries and warms places it’s another thing we offer, working alongside our schools to support those in need.
“It’s an opportunity to spread joy, and hope and share God’s love.”
Meanwhile in Liverpool the Imagine If Trust and Hope Foundation are preparing to serve 200 people with a meal on Christmas Day at the Frontline Centre in Wavertree. Anyone wanting to attend from 11.30am until 4pm, or volunteer can email.
Volunteers have also distributed more than 60 ‘winter warm’ hampers containing a hot water bottle, warm blanket, travel mug, hot chocolate, marshmallows, hat, gloves, warm socks, a candle and draft excluder tape.
Also in the city a Christmas Day meal is being co-hosted at Vauxhall Community Centre by St Andrew’s Community Network, Bay Tree CIC, and Equilibrium NW CIC, from 10am until 2pm. Register here.
Before then volunteers from FoodCycle Liverpool (pictured) are hosting Christmas meals at the Salvation Army in Old Swan on, Thursday December 15th and at St Cleopas Church in Dingle on Wednesday December 21st.
The Old Swan FoodCycle will also be providing a meal as usual on Thursday December 22nd, and the Dingle meal will also run as usual on Wednesday December 28th.
Feeding Liverpool have provided a map of meals happening in the city area. Among them Squash Liverpool are collecting £10 ‘sprout it forward’ donations to provide hearty Christmas meals for neighbours – with the café open doors open for anyone to drop-in for festive food and hot drinks from noon-3pm on Dec 25th.
Also preparing to host guests is the Friendship Cafe Place of Welcome in Southport.
Run by new charity Cherish Reach & Connect, the project will host two Christmas parties, for 50-60 regular guests and volunteers this Sunday December 18th, and on Christmas Day, with volunteers also providing home deliveries of meals in the local area.
Watch our video about the Friendship Café Place of Welcome and let us know if you would be interested in finding our more about setting up a Place of Welcome in your area.
Warm spaces
You can also find links and information about some of the warm spaces available across the region, here
Let us know about your community meal
We would love to share photos from community meals across the Diocese of Liverpool area - please tag @TogethLiv on Twitter or @TogetherLiverpool on Facebook, or email deb.james@togetherliverpool.org.uk