Churches offer food and heat to those in need

A food club in a church in Wrexham is becoming a warm hub for its visitors.

St Mark’s Church in Caia Park is open every Thursday from 11am until 2pm for the £3 food club and will now offer soup and hot drinks to everyone coming along.

The Vicar of St Mark’s, Canon Jonathan Smith said, “We opened the food club at St Mark’s in September and regularly have 50 to 60 people coming along to shop. More than 100 people have used the club at some point since we opened. For a £3 donation people can select at least ten items, which includes both food and hygiene products.

“Before Christmas we ran a free raffle to win several turkeys which was very popular. Everyone attending on the last Thursday before Christmas received a Love Christmas gift bag.

“We hope that the addition of a warm hub facility, with soup and hot drinks, will provide more help and a safe place for people as the winter continues.”

The warm hub at St Mark’s Church in Wrexham is one of at least a dozen warm hubs which have opened in churches across the Diocese of St Asaph since last December. Some offer full meals either to eat in or takeaway while others provide company and space to chat over hot drinks and biscuits.

At St Mark’s Church Hall in Connah’s Quay on Thursday lunchtimes, the church has teamed up with Well-Fed, a Shotton-based social enterprise, to offer people homemade soup and a roll as well as a healthy hot meal to takeaway. The Vicar at St Mark’s, the Revd Alex Mayes, said opening the warm hub is a simple way to help people understand more about the food they eat.

She said, “Last Autumn, I had the opportunity to find out more about the work of Well-Fed at a conference in Llandudno. The experience totally changed the way I think about food. Like many people, I have always had the attitude that I can't/won't cook but Well-Fed not only teaches people a new way to care for their families at mealtimes, it also ensures everyone eats well, with both healthy and delicious meals. Even I can do it!”

The Well-Fed Warm Hub is open every Thursday from 11am until 2pm. A second Well-Fed Warm Hub is open every Friday evening from 4.30pm-6.30pm at St Ethelwold’s Church Hall in Shotton. You can find out more about the Well-Fed Warm hubs in Deeside at https://youtu.be/OHTTOgmNr8U

• There is a list of all the warm hubs across the diocese of St Asaph at https://dioceseofstasaph.org.uk/cost-of-living/

Last year, the Archbishop of Wales, Andrew John, launched a Food and Fuel Campaign to urge the Government and supermarkets to do more to support people during this cost-of-living crisis. Find out more and sign up here