Global donations help East Sussex food scheme reach more families

A food scheme supporting children from low-income families in East Sussex is set to expand after receiving £30,000 in donations from supporters around the world.

Barry Ashley, owner of The Grumpy Cook cafe in Hastings, launched the initiative during the summer holidays, providing free food to local schoolchildren with the help of public donations.

Following the success of the scheme, Ashley now hopes to provide support at weekends throughout the year and bring the initiative to communities across East Sussex.

He said the level of support from donors had been “crazy”, with contributions arriving from as far away as New York and Australia.

Ashley received £10,000 through a GoFundMe campaign supporting The Grumpy Cook, while a further £20,000 was donated through his own website. Local businesses in the food industry have also offered their support.

“If people genuinely want to help then let’s do it and get the word out,” Ashley said.

“If I can get more places doing it then it will help even more people around East Sussex.”

The scheme currently offers free meals, including breakfast cereal, to children during the school summer holidays. Ashley hopes extending the service to weekends will allow more families to benefit throughout the year.

East Sussex County Council said support is available to any family in the county that needs it.

Businesses are also joining the effort. Yolandi Taylor-Banks, owner of the Dot Cafe in Peacehaven, said her business was looking at ways to help expand the scheme.

“Barry has done an amazing job to support families on low income support, and we want to do the same,” she said.

“We just want everyone in our community to have access to a warm meal.”

She added that even small donations could make a significant difference to families struggling with the cost of living.