On 17 February grant makers from Kent Community Foundation volunteered their time to support the community group Families Eating And Sharing Together to deliver a hot meal to families whose children receive a free school meal during term time.
The community food project Families Eating And Sharing Together, known as FEAST, is run by a group of passionate volunteers with a mission to tackle food inequality. They operate from four locations in the Tonbridge area running two community larders called Feast Fresh which offer fresh produce to those on a low income and provide hot healthy lunches to families in the school holidays.
During their visit to FEAST at St Philips Church in Tonbridge, the Kent Community Foundation team helped with the preparations to provide ten local families, whose children would normally have free school meals, with a hot lunch of macaroni cheese, followed by a caramel crisp cake during the half term break.
The FEAST team who are all volunteers are determined that the important lunch in school holidays not only provides a delicious meal for the families but a chance to socialise and join in with games in a welcoming and non-judgemental setting.
Kent Community Foundation has been funding FEAST since May 2022 and recently awarded them a grant of £21,250 to help with their core running costs and purchase food for their community larders and lunches.
James Horne, Grants and Social Loans Manager, Kent Community Foundation said, “We were all very impressed with the very well organised way that FEAST operated. The food was delicious, the games for the children were great fun and we saw first-hand the excellent relationship the volunteers had with their beneficiaries.”
Lee Athwal BEM, FEAST volunteer said, “The funding we have received from Kent Community Foundation goes directly into buying fresh, healthy food for our FEAST guests. Without this support we would struggle to help around one hundred and thirty households every week at our Feast Fresh community larders and approximately twenty families each week during school holidays.”
To contact Kent Community Foundation about funding for charities and community groups call 01303 814500, email admin@kentcf.org.uk or visit www.kentcf.org.uk/funding
About FEAST
FEAST (Families Eating And Sharing Together) is a food project based in Kent. They host hot lunches for families in the school holidays and run two community larders called Feast Fresh which offer fresh produce to households on low income.
About Kent Community Foundation
Grant-maker Kent Community Foundation has been finding, funding, and supporting some of the smallest voluntary organisations in the county for over twenty years. In this time, it has distributed over £50 million to support thousands of small charities and deserving causes where a modest sum of money can make a significant impact.
They are part of a UK wide accredited network of forty-seven Community Foundations who are committed to improving the lives of local people and communities, particularly the most vulnerable, isolated, and disadvantaged by matching those who want to help, with those who need the help.
Responsible for more than ninety philanthropic funds, Kent Community Foundation is unrivalled in its knowledge of local causes and assists individuals, families, and businesses, who want to help, to establish and administer their own charitable funds.
