FOR THOSE feeling the pinch in these difficult times, there is a warm welcome on offer every Wednesday at the Tavistock Food Hub. Open between 11am to 12.30pm at King’s, a church off Pixon Lane, the hub is a chance to pick up food at a very low cost.

Anyone coming along can pick up a bagful of food that would otherwise go to waste for £5. There is no means-testing, meaning anyone can come along.

Laid out on tables in the hall on Wednesday last week are boxes full of fruit and veg, of pastries and bread, and coolboxes of dairy and meat. There are apples, oranges and bananas, along with red onions and potatoes. Cool boxes, meanwhile, offer organic butter from Yeo Valley dairy in Somerset. Another coolbox is stacked full of little pots of single cream. There are also bread, cakes, crisps pasties and pies.

There is also a cafe, with free tea and coffee and Danish pastries, to enjoy over a chat at tables decorated with bunches of sweetpeas. People can also become a member of the food hub – which is free – and then order larger food boxes to be delivered to them, offering a full family shop for a family of four for just £15. Demand is such that deliveries are now being upped to twice weekly, on Wednesdays and Saturdays.

This is the second week that the Tavistock hub has been open and, the volunteers report, the hall is already busier than last week, as word of mouth spreads news of the project, which has seen organisations Feeding Devon and Devon and Cornwall Food Action work with volunteers connected with the churches in Tavistock.

Among those collecting food and enjoying a free coffee is Barbara Sanderson, who lives on the Greenlands estate and is a pensioner. She has donated crocheted blankets to the Tavistock Food Hub, to help others. She also comes to collect food herself.

Barbara said ‘I came last week. I got a bagful of stuff and it lasted ages. I think it is worth it, the prices of everything at the moment are so high and for all this to go to waste would be shameful.’

David Palmer is a leader at King’s, the church and the Redeeming Our Communities coordinator for Tavistock, which offered the use of the building for the food hub.

He said it was a case of getting the word out about the hub in the town.

Hopefully there won’t be any stigma because this really is for everyone. Everyone can come along, anyone can pop in. It is often the practical help that people need isn’t it? The foodbank in Tavistock does a wonderful job – this is supplementary to that. We have an amazing volunteers and we are so encouraged by the amount of volunteers that have come forward to help.’

Henry Adams, who is a member of the Men in Sheds project next door, was collecting a bag of food. ‘This is my first time,’ he said. ‘I think this is wonderful, because I would sooner take only what I need where I can contribute rather than a foodbank. Even though I’m on benefits, I don’t really need the foodbank but I think this is brilliant idea, a fantastic way of taking away the stigma really, because if you want to contribute you can contribute. It is just its second time and I think when it catches on more people will use it.’