Yesterday I met with Lianne Simpson, the founder of Diamond Hampers .
Diamond Hampers operates three stores in central Huntingdon providing community support for those who need it.
The Pantry (pictured) is located in All Saints Passage and specialises in providing affordable food that would otherwise be disposed of by the supermarkets. Food is collected daily and made available for sale with customers able to purchase a large basket for £4.00 or a small basket for £2.00. The shop also provides a small cafe function providing hot meals.
The Toybox and the Attic are both located in St Benedict’s Court and provide toys and children’s clothes at the Toybox and clothes, furniture and other items in the Attic.
To date, Lianne and the team have delivered over 500,000 emergency meals, rescued nearly 1,000 tonnes of food, and saved around £800,000 worth of produce from going to waste. I was struck by how busy the Pantry was during my visit and it illustrated that there is a real need for this type of service.
Following this I will look to meet with the Independent Food Aid Network to see what can be done e to address some of the challenges faced by organisations like Diamond Hampers in redistributing food.
My thanks to Lianne for taking the time to show me the work that her team do. Please do reach out to her if you need to use the store or would like to volunteer. In addition, congratulations to them for being nominated in two categories for this year’s Huntingdonshire Business Awards.
