Farmer donates 500 hampers to people in need

Charlotte Ashley said the food donations had "opened up conversations" about food and farming

A farmer who collected 500 boxes of fresh food to give out to people in need said the appreciation had been "overwhelming".

Dairy farmer Charlotte Ashley said she was able to offer the hampers across Cumbria after receiving a £2,000 donation.

A report in 2022 said the cost-of-living crisis hit people living in rural areas harder than those living in towns and cities.

Mrs Ashley said it had been "heart-breaking" to learn that a lot of people could not afford to buy food.

The donations were "just about kindness at Christmas", she said.

"There's no criteria to receive a box and it's opened up a conversation about food and farming."

Charlotte Ashley drove to areas all over Cumbria

The farmer, who lives in the Eden Valley, said she had been surprised by the money and wanted to "maximise the donation and do the kindness justice".

"Between me, my husband Roy and my farmer friend Rebecca Wilson we decided to buy vegetables in bulk, divvy them up into hampers and donate those to the food bank," she told BBC Radio Cumbria.

The food was sourced from Preston, Yorkshire, Lincolnshire and other areas.

"This is before we realised food banks don't accept fresh food - so we came unstuck," Mrs Ashly said.

The food was sourced, with some farmers donating produce, from areas including Preston, Yorkshire and Lincolnshire.

Mrs Ashley said they then chose to hand out the boxes themselves to sheltered housing and took requests on her social media for specific locations.

A lot came from West Cumbria, she added.

"Nobody should be in a position where they cannot afford food and, overwhelmingly, what I'm learning is that a lot of people cannot afford to buy food," she said.

"It's heart-breaking."

Mrs Ashley and her farmer friend Rebecca Wilson worked together to donate the boxes

Mrs Ashley said, when it comes to food, "we're fortunate as farmers that we're in a privileged position".

"People cannot get over why we are doing it not for money," she said, adding that Christmas was all about giving a "little of that to somebody else who might be struggling".