Rustington families gather for Christmas party, organised by The Pantry at St Peter and St Paul Church
Families in Rustington have been given a Christmas party to remember, thanks to the support of local businesses.
The Pantry at St Peter and St Paul Church hosted the party on December 17, with staff from Establo Lounge serving Christmas dinner and all the trimmings to 70 guests.
Grace Sims, one of the organisers, said: "Our pantry is about more than providing food. Alongside every pantry session, we host social events to help people feel less alone.
"These gatherings, with tea, coffee, cake and a hot meal, have led to many positive friendships being formed."
Festive treats and gifts for the children were funded by Sophie Guess at L. Guess Jewellers and Lee Cullen at The Quill pub in Rustington.
Morrisons Littlehampton's community champion Alison Whitburn, who provides the pantry with weekly food donations from the store, gave a £100 gift voucher to spend on the party.
Alison said the additional donation was part of Morrisons' Christmas campaign to tackle loneliness. With more than a million people facing Christmas alone, Morrisons provided £100 for each of its stores, so community champions could support local festive gatherings in their community.
Alison added: "A new study we commissioned with the Royal Voluntary Service identified that eating alone was the norm for many but it was particularly hard at this time of year."
The party followed the pantry's special Christmas session on Saturday, December 6, where free hampers were given out to 100 regular users.