New pantry launches to help families struggling with cost of living

The new Oasis Community Pantry launched today and is located at the Mackay Stadium in the Sholing area of Southampton. 

Oasis Hub East has teamed up with Sholing Football Club and The Big Difference for this food project. 

The pantry is one of a growing number of community food projects across the UK, offering low-cost and high-quality food to families struggling to make ends meet on a weekly basis.

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Karen Dawkins, Community Hub Leader at Oasis, says: "This project follows on from the two Oasis Academies in Sholing working closely together to benefit not just the families in our schools, but the wider community as well."

She added: "We wish that, at Oasis, we didn’t have to run any projects to tackle food insecurity and poverty, and we will work hard to create communities where one day we can end these projects. In the meantime, we think that Oasis' affordable food schemes can provide part of the short-term solution in a dignified way that also connects people with their community."

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The pantry will be open every Thursday from 9.30am until 1pm at Sholing Football Club. 

The Mayor of Southampton, Cllr Alex Houghton, was also at the launch. He said: "I was delighted to see this new community provision open in the east of Southampton. It is a very timely provision for local families, and I congratulate all the local people who came together to make this happen."

For more information, visit: www.oasiseastsouthampton.org.