A HOMELESS charity in York, which offers meals provided by a stream of volunteers, has been nominated for a Community Pride award.

HOPING Street Kitchen, which is made up of volunteers including cooks, has been nominated for the Best Community Project prize in this year's awards.

The charity offers food at King's Manor in Exhibition Square in York city centre. The food is cooked at the volunteers' homes, and then transported to the street kitchen to be served hot by its 25 volunteers, as two course meals to an average of 40 people a week.

Emma Greenall, who nominated the charity for the award, said: "I first became aware of HOPING Street Kitchen through a small group of people who offer help to refugees resettling in York.

"As the Vulnerable Persons Resettlement Support Worker for the City of York Council, I reached out to this group to see if they could provide a blender for a newly arrived refugee family. The group kindly signposted me to Helen Meadows at HOPING Street Kitchen. Not only did Helen arrange for a blender to be delivered to the door of this family who were in isolation for the first two weeks after their arrival, but she also arranged for HOPING to deliver fresh food to their front door, at least twice a week. She considered their cultural needs and kindly arranged for breads to be delivered to them as well. 

"Since then, HOPING has expanded their offer of services by reaching out to the public to request items needed by the refugees such as food appliances, microwaves, bicycles, televisions, to name a few.

"Not only does this give the opportunity for the local community to help new arrivals in a practical and relevant manner, it also helps the refugees to feel settled and welcomed, turning their house into a home to stay.

"This is why I feel that HOPING Street Kitchen should absolutely win the award for Best Community Project."

The categories in this year’s awards include Volunteer of the Year, Charity Fundraiser, Child of the Year, Sporting Hero, Best Community Project, Health Service Hero, Mental Health Award, Spirit of Youth, YCP Person of the Year, Carer of the Year and Public Sector Hero.

The charity has been invited to the awards ceremony later in the year - where the winners of each category will be revealed. Three finalists for each prize will be in attendance at the event.

Nigel Burton, editor of The Press, said: “There is an astonishing number of people working behind the scenes across the York area to make life easier for others less fortunate than themselves.

“These volunteers should have their moment in the spotlight so that others can be inspired by their efforts."