A ZERO foodwaste initiative is raising money for Christmas hampers for families who might struggle with extra costs over the festive period.

Northwich Community Support (NCS) usually visits supermarkets to collect groceries approaching their sell-by date, and then takes them to one of several distribution hubs.

Those who want to make use of the food can then visit a hub and, for a small donation, fill two shopping bags with groceries.

This week, NCS has launched its No Holiday Hunger campaign, which aims to crowdfund £12,000 to provide hampers for families who are just about getting by, but would benefit from a helping hand over the festive period.  

If you would like to help NCS reach its £12,000 target, visit their JustGiving page by visiting justgiving.com/crowdfunding/ncs-holiday-hunger?utm_term=JNwa9Vpva.

NCS volunteer Lee Burstow said: “We’ve gone to schools near our hubs and asked how many families they have who are only just managing.

“We’re going to put together Christmas hampers with staples, a few little treats, a family board game, and a voucher from George’s Butchers at Weaverham.

“We’re paying for the voucher, but George’s will add to the balance, so the families will actually get more than we have paid for.

“Hopefully they’ll be able to get themselves a Christmas turkey.”

Northwich Guardian: NCS volunteers at work in their Barnton hub (Northwich Community Support)NCS volunteers at work in their Barnton hub (Northwich Community Support) (Image: NCS)

Northwich town councillor Lee Siddell, a long-term supporter of NCS, has taken the lead on the crowdfunding side of the campaign.

Cllr Siddall said: “We normally do a toy appeal, which has always been very successful.

“But due to the rising cost of living - with inflation the way it is, and energy bills, and people’s mortgages being squeezed by interest rate rises - we figured it would be more beneficial to use our resources to get food for hungry kids.

“We’d love to do the toys as well, but there is so much less money floating around at the moment, and we think it is more important to help kids fill their tummies over Christmas.

“There are about 300 children we want to try to support, so we’ve estimated that we need to raise £12,000 to give them something decent. It’s quite a big hill to climb.

“But if everyone who subscribes to the Northwich Life Facebook group gave just 50p, we would double that target.”