Fears of 'bleak winter' for South Downs families in need

The Wholesome Warehouse in Storrington – a registered charity – collects donations of high quality food and other household items and delivers them to people who need them across an area from Pulborough to Hove.

Warehouse founder Lucinda Croft said: “We collect donated food – some of it would be wasted – and we gather it together to create bespoke food boxes.”

But, she said, more funds are needed.

“We are anticipating a bleak winter ahead and are hoping to secure some new funding so we can help more vulnerable people.”

The food is donated by local companies, including the school meals provider The Easy Lunch Company, and volunteers cook it so that each food box has a home cooked meal alongside, bread, vegetables and dried foodstuffs. A group of women also get together to bake cakes and treats.

“Some of the people who are referred to us are families who are struggling,” said Lucinda. “We once got a phone call from someone alerting us to the fact their brother hadn’t eaten for three days.

"Our food boxes go out twice a week and we do approximately 180-220 meals a week.

"The food we get given is perfectly good but would have been thrown out so it is helping cut waste and feed precious people.”The Wholesome Warehouse also receives donations of furniture and helps to furnish the homes of people who were homeless or who have been rehoused.

“We are a place where we get to see the goodness of people as they give us beautiful items to give away,” said Lucinda.

" We also get to watch our families get stronger until they don’t need assistance any more, in the best cases.“Recently we have been helping a few families with their gas and electricity ️ as the need is great.

"One woman had just come out of hospital and we went to deliver her a food box to discover her sitting in the cold.

"We were so grateful we had enough funds to help her pay her gas and electricity, until she was a bit stronger.”

See www.thewholesomewarehouse.com