Buckfastleigh Council Initiative to Provide Free Christmas Meals

Volunteers in a Devon town are preparing to deliver complimentary Christmas meals to individuals experiencing financial difficulties, as part of a council program. Buckfastleigh Town Council indicated that the service is popular, with over 50 meals already designated for delivery on Christmas Eve. Sue Clarke, who holds the positions of Council leader and Mayor of Buckfastleigh, stated that any resident of the town could register for the meals without facing judgment. She affirmed: “We don’t means test, anybody who would like one can have one.” Clarke further commented: “It is a really tough job to feed your families which is really shocking in a first world developed country like ours. “That is why there is no judgement. We are not going to ask for any kind of proof of benefits or anything.” Until 2020, the council organized a Christmas dinner event for the community, but Clarke mentioned there were a “number of difficulties.” She explained these challenges were “mainly getting volunteers on Christmas Day and keeping everything hot without a catering kitchen.” “Then of course we had the Covid lockdowns,” Clarke added. She noted that they subsequently devised the delivery initiative and collaborated with Wiltshire Farm Foods, located in Ashburton, which supplies the Christmas meals and puddings at a discounted rate to assist the community. She stated that this only costs the council a “few hundred pounds.” In addition to the Christmas meals, Ms Clarke said they assemble “gift bags” containing local produce, including Luscombe drinks, jams, and chutneys. She also added: “We also identify households with children, and we do special treats for children in the gift bags.” “It is lovely to knock on people’s doors and say happy Christmas. People are happy to get them, and they are really popular.” She remarked: “In Buckfastleigh we do things a bit differently to a lot of other small councils.” “We give the majority of our money away and we push it back into our community to do good to provide events and activities.” The program is accessible to all residents of Buckfastleigh Parish, and the deadline to request a meal is midday on 13 December. Follow BBC Devon on X, Facebook and Instagram. Send your story ideas to spotlight@bbc.co.uk. Copyright 2024 BBC. All rights reserved. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read about our approach to external linking.