FLINTSHIRE residents are being given extra access to low-cost food thanks to a vital National Lottery-funded project.

Can Cook, founded in 2007, is supporting communities bearing the brunt of the cost-of-living pressures.

It aims to make sure that everyone has the opportunity to eat fresh, healthier food at mealtimes.

The organisation first started working out of a deprived area in Liverpool but has expanded to North Wales where it has helped over 17,000 people to cook.

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Can Cook was awarded £100,000 of The National Lottery funding to scale up their operations, while continuing to make low-cost food from scratch for people to have at hubs and for people to buy and take home.

In north Wales, this work is carried out by Well-Fed; a part of a partnership between Can Cook, Flintshire County Council and ClwydAlyn HA.

The £100,000 funding was matched by Flintshire County Council and this project is a perfect example of a strong local partnership working to benefit local people.

Thanks to National Lottery players, the money has helped some of the most vulnerable people impacted by cost-of-living pressures in our communities.

Robbie Davison, founder of Can Cook/Well-Fed, says that with more and more people falling into poverty, access to low-cost food has never been more important.

He said: “What we are seeing now are people who've never been in poverty before and they don't know what to do. New people coming to us are terrified because they are in poverty for the first time, they don't know what to do and the services are not necessarily able to respond to the numbers.

“But it's also user expectations. People who have never been in poverty before expect a lot more - and so they should.

“What is problematic is that because people have been so downtrodden for so long, some of the services are not up to scratch, and that's what we've been trying to focus on.

“Part of what we are using The National Lottery funding for is around warm hubs and making sure that everybody gets access to fresh soup and a fresh meal every day.

“That’s fresh soup every single day with some nice bread and a ready meal that we've made fresh for them to take home– that is a big deal to a lot of people.”

National Lottery players raise more than £30 million a week for arts, education, environment, health, heritage, sport, and voluntary projects across the UK.