Village to receive weekly food pantry after gas cuts left ‘many vulnerable people’ exposed

A mobile food pantry will stop in a Leicestershire village hit by gas cuts after the incident highlighted “numerous vulnerable people in the community”. The pantry, run by Feed The Hungry UK, now stops at Ratby Library every Wednesday between 2pm and 4pm.

Ozzy O’Shea, county councilor for Groby and Ratby, said gas cuts in the village in January, which left thousands without the means to cook food and heat their homes, had “identified” residents who were fighting in the area. He said he “jumped” at the opportunity to try to provide a regular food pantry to the village.

When the outages led to Leicestershire Resilience Forum declaring a major incident, Feed The Hungry provided emergency food parcels to residents for two evenings at Ratby Medical Centre. Canon Gavin Kibble MBE, project director at Feed the Hungry, which is based in Hinckley and Coventry, said: “Ratby demonstrates that many small communities are struggling to get by but access to cheaper supermarkets by car or bus it is expensive and often beyond the means of many locals”.

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“Poverty in rural communities is a largely forgotten problem, but our mobile pantry is the perfect solution. It is well stocked and can provide people struggling with funding with a lifeline in terms of food and support systems (such as counseling and social support).

The village is now home to one of seven pantries in the region run by Feed The Hungry UK. In addition to the wrap rack, pantries offer foods from all food groups, including pantry essentials and refrigerated, frozen and fresh fruits and vegetables.

A selection of cleaning products and toiletries are also available at a small additional cost. Cllr O’Shea said: “Ratby is a wonderful village with a really outstanding community spirit but this incident has shown that all communities have areas of poverty and as such I am pleased and grateful that Feed the Hungry is hosting a pantry of much needed food. on a Wednesday afternoon.”

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