A pop-up community kitchen has been launched to help those in need, with meals available for £1.

The One Love Project is serving up family favourites at Friar’s Baptist Church in Shoebury.

The healthy and nutritious meals are being offered every Tuesday for a voluntary £1 donation and kids meals will be free.

Meals such as sausage and mash and chicken tikka masala are being cooked by volunteers in a bid to help those struggling to make ends meet.

One Love co-founder Alison Burt believes the new food scheme will help countless families who have been impacted by the coronavirus pandemic.

She said: “We’re running a pilot scheme which is open every Tuesday from 2-4pm.

“It’s a takeaway service and it’s great to be helping those in need.

“Shoebury is an area that has been greatly affected by Covid because of the amount of businesses that have had to shut.

“It is not the most affluent of areas and so a lot of people need a helping hand at the moment.

Read more:

“Using our pop-up kitchen to get food could be the difference between people having the money to keep the heating on or off, for instance.

“We opened for the first time on Tuesday and we got fantastic feedback. We had people of all ages and backgrounds coming in, so it shows this really is for the whole community.”

The project has been launched in conjunction with Friar’s Baptist Church and Southend Council.

Ian Gilbert, leader of the council, said: “We chose Shoebury as the location of the pilot based on feedback from our community partners who identified that families were facing challenges with increased use of foodbanks and food provision. Residents were also having to travel to Southend to access services and support.

“In response, the council has worked with partners, including Friar’s Baptist Church, to establish a way to support families and residents in Shoebury.

“With One Love now establishing themselves in Shoebury, the council are keen to build on this support and offer more services to residents.

“We will be able to do more outreach work, find out what works and look to be more creative with how we operate these services across the borough.”