FAMILY Food 4 Free, a Chipping Sodbury based support group, went above and beyond to ensure that vulnerable families in the community could enjoy Christmas. In the five days leading up to Christmas Eve, the team at FF4F made over 400 food boxes for the elderly and vulnerable.

They also wrapped and gave out over a thousand gifts to adults and children in need of help.

Volunteers helped the team prepare 248 Christmas dinners that were delivered to Yate and Chipping Sodbury residents, and working with Shireway Heart Starters, sent a further 40 meals to homeless people on Christmas Day and delivered 26 emergency boxes to more families in isolation.

Founder Aimee Waters said: “We were kindly donated two brand new bikes and we got to hand deliver them to two families, one with a boy and one family with a girl who were absolutely over the moon and in complete utter shock at our surprise which was an amazing feeling.

“We couldn’t have done so much without our team of volunteers so I would like to say a big thank you to our main volunteers who really helped us at such a busy time.”

The team are now focussing on the New Year, with one of their main aims being to raise enough funds to become a registered charity.

They want to be able to get a van to make collecting the food items a smoother process and to attempt to find a more permanent premises for FF4F to work from.

Aimee added: “I would like to run budget cooking classes for our community.

“We are supporting a lot more people now, with new people daily, we have quite a few in temporary accommodation that we are helping them move into a future home and supporting them with food.

“We have all different support networks using our facilities of food to give to the families or people they are supporting, even local schools have began sending us referrals.

“It is becoming a positive FF4F non-judgemental community with everyone coming together to help support one another.”