Community spirit '˜alive and well' in Bognor as food floods in

The community response to an appeal to help feed the hungry in Bognor Regis has been '˜simply staggering'.
By The Newsroom
Published 14th Aug 2017, 15:19 BST
Updated 7th Jun 2018, 18:25 BST

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Volunteers outside community support shop Grandad's Front RoomVolunteers outside community support shop Grandad's Front Room
Volunteers outside community support shop Grandad's Front Room

A stream of people have been turning up to Grandad’s Front Room with an assortment of fresh food.

“This morning we had a lady who has chickens come in so now we have five boxes of eggs, we have a load of carrots, two huge carrier bags of apples,” said Danny Dawes, who runs the community support shop in West Street.

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“We had two little girls come in with bananas and biscuits that they’d ask their mums to buy and they said ‘these are for the little girls and boys and grandads who don’t have any.

People learning about the new alliance to collect surplus food from TescoPeople learning about the new alliance to collect surplus food from Tesco
People learning about the new alliance to collect surplus food from Tesco

“This is what we need, the next generation of people wanting to help like our grandparents did. It’s been lost on our generation, who started building their garden fences higher.

“Community spirit is alive and well in Bognor,” he added.

Danny says those who need the fresh food have been coming in to take it, while his ‘grandadders’ even drove to a woman’s house to bring her food because she can’t travel.

It came after Danny posted a message on the Grandad’s Front Room Facebook page asking for donations

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Danny 'Grandad' Dawes says the next generation are keen to help those in needDanny 'Grandad' Dawes says the next generation are keen to help those in need
Danny 'Grandad' Dawes says the next generation are keen to help those in need

Grandad’s Front Room has just teamed up with FairShare FoodCloud and a number of groups and individuals attended a meeting at the shop on Thursday.

From September 11, 11 Tesco Express stores across Bognor, Chichester and Littlehampton will hand out their surplus food for the people who need it.

Danny is looking for volunteers to collect food and he said: “The message we need to get across is that it will take people power to make this work. “If people in our community know of people who need food then they will be able to just turn up with a sealable plastic container and take it.

“It will be on a trust basis that it won’t be sold but will go to the people who need it.”

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Danny added: “It’s masked by some of the more affluent areas but the poverty here is real.” Potential volunteers should ring 07701335175.

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Related topics:Community spiritBognorFacebookWest Street