Ceremony marks official opening of food hub

The North Lynn Food Hub was officially opened on Wednesday at its new base.The much-needed hub had been operating as a pop-up shop at The Beacon Church for the past 10 months but last month it moved into premises in nearby Walpole Road following renovation of a property provided by King’s Lynn-based social housing provider Freebridge.The food hub is a partnership between Lynn Minster, Freebridge Community Housing, The Beacon and Norfolk Community Foundation.

Open every Wednesday and Friday from noon to 2pm, the hub is run by a voluntary group with a mission to build a stronger community by providing affordable food and connecting people to useful services.West Norfolk Mayor Paul Bland cut the ribbon to mark the official opening of the premises.Andrew Frere-Smith, the food hub’s project manager and a development worker with charity Imagine Norfolk Together, said: “It is so exciting to see all the partners working together to enable such an important initiative.

“I would like to thank Norfolk Community Foundation for the vision and funding, Freebridge Community Housing for the amazing premises, and the Beacon Church for their generous support in so many ways, including providing a hall for our pop-up shop. “Finally, I would like to thank the residents of North Lynn who have given us such a warm welcome. Together we can achieve so much more than working alone.”Anita Jones, chief executive at Freebridge, added: “I’m so pleased to see the food hub come to fruition, my admiration goes to all the partners and volunteers who have worked so tirelessly to get the project off the ground for the benefit of the community.”

If you would like to volunteer or find out more about the project, you can email admin@nlfh.org or call 07949 964932 and if you would like to donate to the food hub, you can visit justgiving.com/pcc-kingslynnminster and choose ‘Donate’.