Food for Life has provided 1,000 meals-a day to those who can’t afford them or cook for themselves
A BUTETOWN charity is appealing for donations from the public to support their work through the winter, as their government funding comes to an end.
Food for Life Wales is run by Cardiff’s local Hare Krishna temple from their location on Bute Street.
They deliver free plant-based hot meals not only to those experiencing financial difficulties but to anyone unable to cook for themselves, such as those with mental and/or physical disabilities.
The project has been operating in Cardiff for more than 20 years, but when lockdown began in March, the team drastically stepped up their efforts.
It was at that time that Evie Thomson, 26, took on the role of project coordinator.
She said: “There were so many people that couldn’t access the services they normally would; their support workers couldn’t get to them, they couldn’t go out and get shopping.
“There were some people, they’d been recently homeless and they’d moved into flats, but they had nothing; you know, no furniture, no cooker, no microwave – no facilities to feed themselves.
“It’s been very difficult to see how many people are facing hardship.”
Evie estimates that at the height of that first wave, they were distributing around 1,000 meals per day to the vulnerable in and around Cardiff.
A tracker on their website claims that the charity has, at the time of writing, distributed a total of 85,957 meals; an impressive achievement, given that they have relied on just two volunteer chefs throughout.
For the past six months, Food For Life Wales has covered operating costs through a Welsh Government grant and an additional National Lottery grant. They intend to apply for long-term funding, but have found the application process to be time-consuming.
“The problem with a lot of grants is that they’re for new initiatives, and we’re no longer a new initiative – so then you’ve got to look for more long-term funding, and there are some, but the process is just a lot more difficult,” said Evie.
“We’ve found one which we might be able to get, but it takes six months for them just to do the assessment. The application takes a long time.”
In the meantime, they’ve begun asking for £1 donations from meal recipients that can afford it, and are now appealing to the public for help through monthly donations. They’re also in the process of planning a Christmas fundraising campaign.
You can donate to Food For Life Wales via their website: https://tykrishna.cymru/food-for-life-donations/
