A CORNISH organisation distributing food out to groups on the ground in Cornwall says it is now feeding one percent of the county’s population on a regular basis.

Cultivate Cornwall is based in Bodmin, and working together with Fare Share South West, it has now delivered the equivalent of 30,000 meals out to around 20 organisations all over Cornwall since the beginning of the pandemic, food which is packed up and passed on to families in need by other groups based in towns and villages in the county.

Cultivate Cornwall CIC says it envisages expanding much further in the coming months to support 50 groups.

Liskeard’s Lighthouse Centre CIC is one of the groups in Cornwall receiving weekly deliveries from Cultivate Cornwall to pass on to local people.

Director Clare Bevan says that without this provision it would “never have been able to feed the number of people we have helped over the last eight months”.

When food arrives in bulk from Bodmin, it is then re-packed into trays for individual families, and donations from many local shops and individuals add to the boxes. Trays typically contain pasties and bread, fresh fruit, and tinned and dry foods.

Since March 2020, The Lighthouse has adapted its services and has provided parcels to feed more than 4,500 people, including 600 homeless people through its regular run to Plymouth.

Some of the many other services Lighthouse offers include telephone and online support groups, a health and wellbeing project for families, an ‘Emotional Logic’ WhatsApp group for teenagers, free bouncy castle sessions for children, and kayaking at local rivers and lakes. The CIC also signposts people to outside help.

A huge amount of support from businesses and the public locally means that the organisation has ensured continuation of its services and has been able to recruit new volunteers and staff.

“Who would have believed, we just started out wanting to support a few of our service users who we knew were going to struggle financially through the first lockdown, and now we are a fully functioning food bank,” said Clare.

“We know how difficult it can be to reach a point where you have to ask for help to feed your own family, therefore we don’t ask questions, we just provide the necessary support and then work with those people afterwards to help them to improve their situation.

“We operate an informal, friendly and confidential approach, helping as fast as we can in the best way we can.”

The Lighthouse Centre covers much of the Caradon area, Liskeard and Looe and surrounding villages, and people can self-refer as well as being referred from other groups such as Age UK and the town council.

Clare says the group has seen demand increase by a third and anticipates it rising further.