Last updated at 17:15, Wednesday, 09 January 2013

A MEETING is to take place tonight in a bid to tackle food poverty in Millom.

The “You Can Help” event will see community leaders and members of the public come together to try to establish a foodbank service in Millom.

Pastor Fred Mckeown, of Millom Community Church, is calling for the public to show support for the project, in a bid to get it off the ground.

He said: “We want as many people as possible to come along and show their support, especially the people who’ve promised me they would.

“The meeting will help us establish what needs to be done in terms of setting up a foodbank in Millom.

“We won’t fully know how much of a need there is in the town until we get things up and running.”

The Evening Mail recently reported that the community church is offering a free breakfast buffet on a Thursday, starting this week, at Millom Network Centre.

And Mr Mckeown said he has been pleased with the public response following the article.

He said: “I’ve been encouraged by the response so far from the public, who say they want to get involved.

“When the article ran in the Evening Mail I had someone come to my house with a big box of food.

“Because we hadn’t set up the foodbank at that point, with their permission, I donated it to a large family, who were really appreciative of it.

“A lot of people are asking how to get involved with the foodbank.”

The nearest foodbank centre to Millom is 25 miles away in Barrow.

A new satellite foodbank has also been set up just under 20 miles away in Ulverston – something Mr Mckeown is hoping can be replicated in Millom.

He said: “A woman from the Trussell Trust (the UK-wide foodbank network) is coming along to the meeting to speak to us about what we can do in Millom and how we can be of support to it.

“Hopefully, we’ll be able to create a satellite branch of Barrow’s, like they’ve done in Ulverston.”

The foodbank meeting is set to take place at Millom Methodist Church, in Queen Street, from 6pm tonight.

Reverend Rachel Williams, of Millom Methodist Church, instigated the foodbank meeting after it was revealed that a Millom family starved for six days without food.

First published at 10:49, Tuesday, 08 January 2013
Published by http://www.nwemail.co.uk