Cost of living: Meet the people feeding their community

Mair Bowen and her friends provide hot meals and company for isolated members of her community

A shipping container in Barry, an allotment in Caernarfon and a cosy kitchen in Kilgetty.

Three unassuming locations where good food is making a huge difference to people's lives.

Many are finding times tough, but three volunteers are going above and beyond to ease the pressures on their communities.

Members of the public have nominated their picks for the BBC Cymru Wales Food Hero Award.

From those nominees, the final three - Janet Hayward, Alun Roberts and Mair Bowen - were chosen by ex-Great British Bake Off contestant, Beca Lyne-Pirkis.

The overall winner will be announced at the BBC's Food and Farming Awards ceremony at the National Museum of Wales in Cardiff on Wednesday.

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The awards were launched 22 years ago to honour those who work hard to promote the cause of good food.

Here are the finalists, and their fantastic stories.

Janet Hayward, Barry, Vale of Glamorgan

A big blue box is helping to feed the local community - and it's all down to Janet Hayward, head teacher at two Vale of Glamorgan primary schools.

Janet, 54, had the vision to convert shipping containers into learning spaces for pupils, while also supplying affordable food for families - a concept which is now being used in almost 70 locations across south Wales.

She said: "The children love our Big Bocs Bwyd [Big Food Box]. It's a place to come and play shop, but it's an opportunity for our children to learn so many skills."

Janet Hayward inside the Big Bocs Bwyd in Barry

It houses a "pay as you feel" shop, which stocks surplus food mostly provided by FareShare Cymru and local supermarkets.

There is also a café for people to socialise in and an area where pupils grow food.

"Food is a real corner-piece for keeping communities happy and fed," said Janet.

Janet says being able to support families is a privilege

Local mum Megan Merrett said it was a big help with the cost of living.

"It's not just something that's being done because everything's awful, it's also really exciting, it's buzzy," she said.

Megan Merrett and son Iolo, who use the Big Bocs Bwyd in Barry

Janet is described by those using the Bocs as a "change-maker" and a "sparky character" who makes things happen.

Although the cost of living crisis is a worry, Janet said it was a "privilege" to be able to do something about it.

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Many families rely on the Bocs to put food on the table, but school staff are also finding the current situation a challenge.

She said: "We do have a lot of families who say they really do rely on the Bocs. But we have staff who are finding the cost of living a challenge as well.

"It really is a worry but therefore it makes it feel all the more the privilege to be able to actively do something to support families and do something about it."

Alun Roberts, Caernarfon, Gwynedd

Putting in the hard graft in his allotment, you'd never guess Alun Roberts was almost 80.

The retired head teacher is passionate about providing fresh food to people in need, and teaches people how to grow their own food too.

The vegetables he grows have been used to provide hot meals and are taken to Caernarfon town centre for distribution.

Alun Roberts in his allotment

He noticed many people in his community felt uncomfortable getting food for free at a food bank.

Through the local FareShare scheme, people are charged £3 and can choose one meat and fill up their bag with other produce.

During the pandemic, he worked with the Porthi Pawb scheme, which is Welsh for feeding everyone, that delivered nearly 23,000 fresh meals to people.

And now, faced with a new challenge - the cost of living crisis - Alun's work is helping people get by.

"It shows you that people appreciate it, the work that we do here", says Alun Roberts

"At the moment I think [people] are coping. But it's going to get worse. It's going to be very difficult," he said.

But Alun is determined food that would otherwise go to waste gets to the people who need it most.

And he has no plans to give up just yet. "I'll carry on until... I drop," he said.

Mair Bowen, Kilgetty, Pembrokeshire

Mair Bowen has worked as a volunteer for more than 15 years, preparing meals for local residents in need.

The 82-year-old has organised Harvest Suppers and St David's Day celebrations - providing merriment and vital company to community members.

She and her team often cater for over 70 people, mainly the older generation who "make it an occasion".

Helping people is "the only way forward", according to Mair Bowen (pictured right)

During Covid, concerned for those living alone, they prepared and delivered cawl, which is a Welsh stew, and afternoon teas to isolating residents.

"It was a connection [for single people]. I'm one of those as well," said Mair, who has lived alone since losing her husband nine years ago.

"She's the driving-force... in a nice way," said Gill Mallin, a member of her support crew.

Mair is now hoping to share her knowledge and inspire others to take over the reins.

"I'm hoping that the younger generation will take it over, because I don't think I'm going to be able to continue with this forever," she said.

But for the foreseeable future, the plan is to keep helping as much as she can.

"It's been very satisfying to do it and with the uncertainty of everything at the moment, until life becomes easier for people, I think this is probably the only way forward."

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