Plea to check on neighbours after Chesterfield foodbank volunteers find OAP who 'had not eaten for four days'
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The 84-year-old pensioner was discovered by ‘pure accident’ when Kelly Hall, of the Chesterfield Community Food Hut, delivered a food parcel to her neighbour.
The elderly resident told Kelly she had recently lost her husband and her claim for a single person’s pension had hit a delay.
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Hide AdKelly said: “I told her this should not be happening and she must have been lost in the system in some way.
"It was a pure accident that I started talking to her because she was in her garden when I delivered a parcel to her neighbour.
"This is why it is so important to check on your neighbours as it is easy for people to be missed and fall through cracks in the system.”
Kelly says that when the woman told her story she ‘burst into tears’ and could then ‘not stop crying’.
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Hide Ad"We filled her cupboards with non-perishable items and also toiletries,” Kelly said.
"She was so grateful and it was nice to see her smiling when we left.
"It always feels amazing to help someone in a situation like that. It is the best feeling in the world to help another human being.”
The food hut has been operating in Chesterfield since the coronavirus lockdown began in March and has now delivered 6,000 food parcels to people in need across the town.
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Hide AdThe team of volunteers told us in April that they have a simple ethos: no one gets turned away.
Without any Government grants or support, the group of mums and dads have set up a hub in the community, now at Monkwood Road Community Rooms in Dunston, to identify people in need and support them.
Vulnerable and isolated people, as well as cancer patients, are referred to the hut from mental health teams, social services and elsewhere.
Kelly says the team currently need help printing leaflets to ensure other elderly people are not being missed.
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Hide AdEmail [email protected] or find them on Facebook if you can help.