Update: Weekend Hot Food Provision at Our Lady Star of the Sea Parish Centre
29 Jan 2023
Sir Charles Nicholson, chair of the Companions of the Order of Malta, confirmed with me this past week that they are committed to purchasing all the equipment we need for the provision of hot meals. This is a wonderful investment in our community and parish by this fantastic charity and means that, depending on delivery of the equipment, we can aim for a start date of end of February, beginning of March.
Alongside the ordering and delivery of the equipment is the necessary training for basic food hygiene and other regulations that we need to press forward with, including registering with Cheshire West and Chester Council and sharing with our town that we are shortly to launch this service to our community. We will need to start modestly in terms of the food served, but I am suggesting we serve 12.30pm-2.30pm Saturdays and Sundays, and make sure that we can provide a weekend foodbank during those times also, given the lack of foodbank provision in our community over the weekend. May I appeal for more volunteers from the parish, please, to join our team of around 40 already willing to help?
To know more about the Companions of the Order of Malta, under whose name and guidance we are launching this project, and through whom we have received all the necessary equipment, signage, advice, training, and support we need, you can visit the website: https://www.orderofmalta.org.uk/companions/
The Order of Malta more generally is an incredible charity, with a history of over 900 years assisting the poor, the sick, and those most in need. I have been a chaplain of the Order for the past five years and have seen at first hand the phenomenal impact that the works of the Order have had, not just in the United Kingdom but around the world. Read more about the excellent work the Order does at their website: https://www.orderofmalta.org.uk