Local community group, Feeding Gainsborough, is celebrating after being awarded National Lottery funding to support its work in addressing poverty, poor health, and social isolation. The group, based in Gainsborough, Lincolnshire will use the cash to distribute surplus food, provide information, advice and guidance through specialist partner sessions and support groups and create volunteering opportunities including training and entry to employment.
Feeding Gainsborough has been running since 2019 and is staffed by over 20 volunteers. The group now collects food 7 days a week and sorts and distributes it within their local community to family networks, schools, churches, supported living, cafés, shops and more!
The new funding from The National Lottery Community Fund, which distributes money raised by National Lottery players for good causes and is the largest funder of community activity in the UK, will ensure this support will be able to continue and increase so they can support those most in need in their community.
At the same time, the group will be able to press on with plans to introduce a new local community café with open access to support, information advice and guidance in the heart of the town. This will help attendees to build relationships with others experiencing the same challenges and hopefully enable them to develop community cohesion, resilience and their own support networks. They also aim to improve attendees quality of life through encouraging community engagement and participation in volunteering, training and employment opportunities.
About The National Lottery Community Fund
We are the largest community funder in the UK – we’re proud to award money raised by National Lottery players to communities across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. National Lottery players raise £30 million each week for good causes throughout the UK. Since June 2004, we have made over 200,000 grants and awarded over £9 billion to projects that have benefited millions of people.
We are passionate about funding great ideas that matter to communities and make a difference to people’s lives. At the heart of everything we do is the belief that when people are in the lead, communities thrive. Thanks to the support of National Lottery players, our funding is open to everyone. We’re privileged to be able to work with the smallest of local groups right up to UK-wide charities, enabling people and communities to bring their ambitions to life.