A food pantry in West Cumbria has provided 95 bags of food to 22 families in a single week.
The Phoenix Enterprise Centre Food Pantry, in Cleator Moor, is offering a lifeline to families struggling to feed themselves.
Marketing officer Mia O’Fee said: "Food is not just our fuel for life – it’s central to how we feel about ourselves.
"Our food bags are not just about giving hungry families the basics.
"They are about giving people a choice."
The charity takes a holistic approach, assessing each new referral and carrying out a financial assessment to determine where additional support is needed.
Ms O’Fee said: "So, food is part of the plan, but it’s not the solution.
"We look at people holistically, taking each and every person’s story into account."
The charity is supported by FareShare Cumbria and Lancashire, which redistributes surplus goods from the food retail supply chain to charitable groups across the two counties to prevent food waste and tackle food poverty.
Ms O’Fee has contributed three recipes to The Kinder Cookbook, a book that commemorates the Kinder Kind of Kitchen community initiative by The Cumberland, in partnership with FareShare Cumbria and Lancashire.
The book tells the story of the work that groups like the Phoenix Food Pantry do, supported by FareShare centres, and celebrates the way sharing food can bring people together.
It features recipes contributed by organisers and volunteers from the food projects based within Cumbria’s communities and the impact that partnerships, kindness, and connecting over food can have.
Ms O’Fee said: "I thought long and hard about the recipes I would like to enter into The Kinder Cookbook and bread came out on top.
"It’s a staple for life, it’s easy and fun to make, it’s cost-effective and there aren’t many ingredients.
"If you make my flatbread, you don’t even have to turn the oven on as it takes just a few minutes in the frying pan.
"And my no-knead bread is so simple to make.
"It’s a great recipe to try out with the kids at home."
The food pantry is grant-funded and also relies on the food deliveries it receives from FareShare Cumbria and Lancashire, donations from the local community, and the support of its volunteers.
Its team then packs the bags filled with food and delivers them to people in need across Copeland.
Ms O’Fee said: "Food can bring people together.
"It can give joy.
"We are all food mad in the office and our shared lunches are always something to look forward to.
"We eat together, chat, come up with new ideas, and support each other.
"They are special times."
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here