A HOUSING provider Abri, which has more than 10,000 homes in the region, is encouraging residents in South Somerset to access an online cost-of-living support hub for those who may be struggling to pay their bills.

The hub has been designed by Abri to collate all the useful resources and support available into one central place, bringing together different agencies, skills, knowledge, and service provision to ensure residents are supported.

To tackle this demand, Abri is running a range of food-related initiatives including:

• New mobile community pantry in Crewkerne.

Launched on 12 June, Abri’s new mobile pantry aims to support residents in rural areas who are struggling with the cost of living, by purchasing food for a fraction of the cost of supermarkets.

The mobile pantry, housed inside a specially fitted-out van, will be parked up every Monday from 2pm-4pm at Scouts Hut Carpark, Furland Road, Crewkerne, TA18 8DD.

Membership to the pantry costs £1 a year, and customers can choose either 10 items for £3.50, or 15 items for £5.

• Savvy slow cooking groups in Yeovil and Chard.

These free six-week cookery sessions involve a demonstration of using a slow cooker to make budget-friendly, healthy family favourites, harnessing the fact it costs just 40p to run a slow cooker for 8 hours.

Each attendee is given a new slow cooker and a weekly ingredient pack to recreate the recipes at home. To take part or find out when the next sessions start, email ciadmin@abri.co.uk or call 0300 330 9434.

• Community Pantry at St Peters Community Centre, Westfield.

Run in partnership by Abri, St Peters Community Centre, and the local pantry network as part of their network across Somerset. Members can come and collect items such as fruit, vegetables, and canned, chilled, and store cupboard items with a short best-before or use-by date, for just £3.50 a week.

• Good Grub Club in Chard.

Run by Project Food and Abri, this is a free cooking group run during the school holidays for families on low incomes, offering hands-on experience in preparing and cooking a meal before enjoying it together.

Chard & Ilminster News:

As well as tackling food inequality during school holidays, it reduces social isolation.

Attendees also take home an ingredients box to recreate the meal at home. To take part, people need to contact Abri on ciadmin@abri.co.uk.

Abri’s team are also on hand to provide advice as well as matching customers’ needs with support provided by local Somerset charities, voluntary organisations and third-party partners, with a recent focus on tackling rising food costs as Sophie Clark, Community Development Officer for Yeovil at Abri explained: “Food poverty and struggling to meet everyday bills are very real issues facing our customers in Somerset and across the South West right now.

“The cost of living hub provides a one-stop shop for -people struggling with bills and wanting to find out what help is available locally.

"Often that help is needed in person, and we’ve seen a real surge in interest in groups geared towards tackling the rising costs of purchasing and cooking healthy and nutritious food.”

Claire, from Yeovil who has just started one of the savvy slow cooking groups said: “The course has given me the confidence to find new recipes and give them a go, knowing I can change bits that I do not like. I’m not just watching and tasting, I also get to take the food home and try and cook it myself.

“There’s still a big impact of the cost of living crisis on me and my family. Everything is still expensive, it still costs more than before for the food shop, the cost of electric, plus fuel is still very expensive.

“The slow cooker course has allowed me to make better choices and to make our meals go further when we need it most.”

As part of the cost-of-living hub, there’s also a benefits and budgeting calculator to help people check they’re receiving everything they’re eligible for.

And there are also details of Abri’s Employment Services, where people can access free support to help them find a job, access training, apprenticeships, and more.

Sophie Clark, Abri added: “We’re keen to continue working together with our local partners in tackling challenges caused by the ongoing cost of living crisis to ensure local people have access to the services and support that they need. It can be hard to navigate all the support on offer – the hub makes that process easier.”

For information on support available and tips to help your finances go further, Abri’s cost of living hub is available at this website.