A festive donation to City Catering free meals initiative

A local free food service, dedicated to easing hunger and poverty for families in Southampton, has received a festive boost this month - thanks to a donation by Bluestar.

City Catering has been running its community food project for four years, providing free grocery boxes to vulnerable families, via its member school network. The schools are currently arranging for boxes to be distributed to families across the city, in time for the Christmas holiday. We are pleased to be able to make a donation to such a great cause supporting families this Christmas.

Gary McMahon, CEO for City Catering Southampton, said: “We were delighted to be approached by Bluestar, proposing a Christmas donation in support of our work.

“We have just sent out our Christmas distribution of Cooking at Home boxes to more than 1,500 needy and vulnerable families across Southampton. That distribution of food represents 25,500 meals for families this Christmas season. And we know exactly how we will use this wonderful donation - to directly target those families that need some support holiday season.”

Chrysie Papanicolaou, Bluestar operations manager, added: “City Catering’s Cooking at Home boxes are a vital resource, providing vulnerable people with much-needed food and necessities when they are going through difficult times.

“Without this programme, many people would go hungry. We hope those who receive the boxes find them useful, and we wish them a very happy and peaceful Christmas.”

The Cooking at Home Christmas boxes contain recipe cards, alongside food items - in a bid to make the cooking process fun, easy, and stress free. As well as providing much-needed food, the aim is also to give parents and guardians the confidence to cook something they have never tried before.

For more information about the programme, please visit citycateringsouthampton.co.uk