HUNDREDS of struggling families are set to receive food parcels this half term thanks to a charitable combination.

GO4 Cafe, based at Old Heath Rec in Colchester, are working with Christian group the Knights of Saint Columba to help people.

The partnership delivered emergency parcels to more than 30 families during lockdown and are aiming to help hundreds of people this week.

A community larder has been set up for residents in need to use with donations coming in daily.

GO4 used £1,000 of its money to kickstart the project but saw the fund double after a fundraising page was launched.

Pepi Sanchez from GO4 said: “The job we are doing should always be to the benefit of our community.

“Our ethos in this unique time of Covid-19 is we must work together.”

George Johnson, a leading member of the Knights of Saint Columba and a secondary school teacher at St Helena said he did not want any youngsters to go hungry this half term.

He said “It is not the fault of these children they will struggle this half term.

“Food is not a luxury we can live without.

“It is an essential needed for life.

“As a teacher I have seen first hand the effect of having a nutritious meal has on a child, on their ability to learn and to thrive.

“As a member of the Knights of Saint Columba, we are called to be charitable in all our actions. We have therefore partnered with the GO4 Cafe to deliver food this half term to those most in need.

“Working directly with local schools, we will ensure that those at the very bottom of society will be able to survive.

“This pandemic is not their fault and the government should not have abandoned them.”

County councillor for New Town and Old Heath, Labour’s Lee Scordis hailed people who had come together to help those who were struggling for food.

He said: “The work Pepi Sanchez and Piter Vera Arroyo have been doing with volunteers has been fantastic.

“They are real community heroes.”

“It is amazing to see the community rally together in New Town and Old Heath and to have been a small part of it.

“I also want to thank the silent hero, Kim Barneston, who has been rallying residents to make donations and collecting them on her bike every week”.

St Helena School will be receiving deliveries of food from the scheme.

These will then be sorted into parcels and staff will distribute it throughout Colchester.

Headteacher Fiona Pierson said: “Our staff have been so keen to do everything they can to help, from offering vehicles to make deliveries, to bringing in food donations.”