'We run a lunch club - but we need people to feed'

They have the food, they have the volunteers – now they just need the diners.

A new lunch club offering free hot meals to children and parents during the school holidays has opened at St Margaret's Church in Wincobank, Sheffield.

The problem is not many people know it is there and volunteers are now trying to spread the word to boost attendance.

The club was started by Melvyn and Carolyn Newton to coincide with the school holidays, but they have not had many chances to publicise it as they have just become foster parents.

Melvyn, 65, used to run lunch clubs when he lived in Manchester and when the couple moved to Wincobank, he was keen to set one up.

"Feeding people has always been my passion, I've done it on streets and I've done it in church halls.

"I worked for the charity Food Works doing van deliveries and I was itching to get this going. We have an amazing team, a great kitchen but no customers at the moment.

"It's called junk food cooking - you go and beg for free stuff that people are throwing away and you make a meal out of it.

"Food Works are good and some of the best places are Asian supermarkets, they have always been generous.

"There's no point having generous shopkeepers though if we haven't got people to feed."

The club is open from 12:00 to 14:00 BST on Tuesdays and Thursdays for a main course and dessert, and there is no need for a referral as people can just turn up.

Today's menu is cheese and onion pie with steamed cabbage and carrots and wedges followed by cake, but Melvyn can turn his hand to most recipes.

"One day in Manchester all we got was 10 boxes of cucumbers so we did cucumber soup and it was the best soup I've ever made.

"It's the school holidays and there are families who are struggling because they haven't got free school dinners to fall back on, so that's an extra expense.

"We would love to carry on doing it from September as well."

The couple became foster parents three months ago – they were approved on a Monday and took in their first foster child on the Thursday.

Carolyn, 56, has worked with families for many years and says it's good to have people in what would otherwise have been an empty church.

"I can remember having a baby and during summer all the activities finished and you were really isolated as a young mum on your own with a small child. We just want this to be a welcoming space so people feel they are part of something with other people."

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