A GROUP is lining up a small army of volunteers to help the launch of a food hub aimed at assisting hard-up families in Tavistock.

Members of TaviHelps, who were behind the highly-successful Christmas Treats campaign for vulnerable people during the worst of the Covid-19 pandemic, have already got volunteers in the bag to distribute food to families from the Tavistock Food Hub, due to open at Kings Church within the next month.

The hub, being steered by Tavistock Pioneer for Tavistock Methodist Church Ali Mansfield, needs volunteers to help run it.

TaviHelps organiser Graham Parker said they had managed to recruit 17 volunteers for the project and he was putting out feelers for more.

The group already has a pool of volunteers who stepped forward to deliver Christmas treats to families hit hardest by the financial carnage caused by the pandemic’s after affects.

Mr Parker, who said the treats scheme was planned again for this Christmas, said he was already aware of some families who would be needing the help of the food hub who had also benefitted from the previous project.

He said: ‘I’m really happy with the way it’s going. We’ve already got some volunteers for the food hub, some for Christmas Treats, which will go ahead again this year, and I’m building a database of people who will generally be available to help us with other stuff, should they be needed.’

TaviHelps grew out of the treats project, with Mr Parker and a team of supporters setting up the group to offer help on a more permanent basis to families who were being affected by the cost of living crisis.

Ms Mansfield said the hub was being set up because it was believed that ‘many families’ in the area needed help. She predicted that number would grow because of the continuing rise in fuel and food prices.

The average annual grocery bill in the UK is set to rise by £380 this year, according to research firm Kantar, which means shoppers could be paying on average an extra £32 a month for food and other groceries.

The survey also showed grocery prices rose by 8.3 per cent over the past four weeks, the highest rate in 13 years. Official figures for April showed overall inflation - the increase in prices over time - was running at nine per cent a year in the UK - the highest rate for 40 years.

The Bank of England has warned inflation might exceed 11 per cent later this year as the prices of fuel and food put pressure on household budgets.

The Tavistock Food Hub works like this: Devon and Cornwall Food Action in Roborough, who work with Feeding Devon, collect surplus food from food industries such as supermarkets and bring it to food hubs to ensure it does not go to landfill sites. The food, which is close to its ‘use by’ or ‘sell by’ dates, but still fit to eat, is distributed to the community, who pay for food boxes at a quarter of their normal price.

Ms Mansfield, who stressed the new hub is not a foodbank, said the project offered cheap food to people on low incomes who were working, so do not qualify for support from a food bank.

Anyone who needs more information on the hub should contact [email protected]