Devon food poverty charity gets new home

Karen Taylor and Mary Darlow are encouraging people experiencing food poverty to come forward

A food charity in Devon has moved into new premises which it hopes will help it provide better support to families affected by the cost of living crisis.

Nourish, based in Axminster, produces cooked meals for people struggling with food poverty.

Up until now it has had to do it in a space shared with other organisations.

Volunteers who run the service said their new base next to hospital would encourage more people to seek help.

They said some families were reluctant to come forward because they incorrectly fear doing so could affect their benefits.

Nourish has been going now for about five years and is a charity incorporated organisation operated by two volunteers, Karen Taylor and Mary Darlow.

'We want to help'

Ms Taylor, the charity's founder, said: "The hardest thing is to get people to come to us for help.

"There's always a stigma and pride, but we would like to encourage people to come forward because we are just like a couple of mums, we just want to help."

As well as providing hot meals, the volunteers go out with police and hand out packed lunches to young people they suspect might be affected by food poverty.