Blackpool estate's community spirit is food for thought

The Cafe @The Grange has launched a takeaway service for residents of Grange Park and the centre has been offering meals on wheels for vulnerable residents forced to self isolate.

Cath Powell, development manager at the Groundwork-supported centre, off Dinmore Avenue, said there had been a real community spirit during the time of coronavirus.

She said: "We have been working hard since March and there has been someone here at the community centre all the time.

"We were the hub for Blackpool Council's Corona Kindness campaign in the first lockdown making up food parcels and supporting people. There were so many acts of kindness and our volunteers were amazing, we could not have done it without them. Barton Grange gave us the contents of their farm shop when it had to close. It was fantastic, lots of people on Grange got some fancy food items.

"We gave out thousands of food parcels at that time. And we started our meals on wheels service. For those who could not get out it made a massive difference.

"Families told us they had seen a real difference in their loved ones using it. They never looked so healthy.

"After the first lockdown ended we relaunched our cafe and many of our activities such as the gardening. That was really important for people who are socially isolated. We had bubble bingo sessions in the outside area.

"The cafe uses fresh food grown in our farm at the back, it is part of our ethos of sustainability and helping to make the estate more sustainable. It is all about healthy eating and growing your own fresh food. Even the three tier cake stands are made from wood that was grown on site.

"We are hoping to get the gardening club back open as soon as this current lockdown ends. It has been a long period for people on their own and they need these activities for interaction.

"Even now we are all working hard to actively engage with the community safely where we can. We get telephone calls every day for help. I had one over the weekend, a 72 year old lady had come out of hospital, she had coronavirus, and there was no heating in her house. So we had to sort that out.

"There are lots of people out there with real needs. Many are the quiet ones who never ask for anything."

She said that in the first lockdown they started a "pay it forward" scheme to feed the kids at half term and people were so generous. They raised £600 from people in Grange Park.

"We also had people we had never seen before coming to us and people coming from all over the Fylde. Two ladies came along and gave us £200."

She said the team at the centre were now preparing a variety of schemes to keep people in touch amid the current lockdown and in the run-up to Christmas.

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