AMBLESIDE Parish Centre is serving up a weekly FareShares free lunch from the beginning of October for at least six months. Fareshares is a charity working with supermarkets to pass on their surplus out-of-date produce rather than throw it away. The parish centre has secured an agreement with Ambleside Tesco to receive surplus food stock for the next six months and a team of volunteers have signed up to a monthly rota, to cook the food and serve the meals.

Centre manager Helen Minton said: “We don’t know what or how much food we will get each week, and we understand that ingredients and their quantities will be different every week. But we do anticipate that the most likely ‘out of date’ produce will be fresh fruit and vegetables, bakery and dairy items. With these ingredients we could provide a simple lunch of soup or a sandwich, on a first come/first served basis. The kitchen will be open from Thursday, October 5 and every Thursday from 12.30pm-1.30pm until the end of March when we will assess its success. If we have ingredients to serve only a few lunches and they are all taken, the kitchen would then close. However, if we get enough ingredients to make a meal that isn’t all consumed, what’s left will be frozen for another occasion. The food will be free to all, as it comes free to us, but we will be pleased to receive donations towards production and upkeep from those who wish to support us.”

For further information telephone the parish centre on 34172.