A vital food service helping 600 families across the Lancaster and Morecambe area may have to close unless £120,000 can be raised.
The food surplus charity Eggcup is facing closure by the end of the year, its manager told Beyond Radio.
Eggcup takes in food that would normally go to waste and distributes it to people in need.
But Phil Tarney, charity manager, said that without additional funds, the charity will have to shut down to "leave people struggling at the worst time of year".
LISTEN to Phil Tarney talking about the future of Eggcup
Eggcup has a centre on Chapel Street near Lancaster Bus Station, a shop on Albert Road in the West End of Morecambe, and opened a food club in Carnforth earlier this year. The charity has been running since 2020.
Mr Tarney said the charity has 126 volunteers, six staff and has "helped a lot of people since 2020".
"We are at a stage now where we need more funding coming in, in order to survive and carry on the good work that we do," he said.
"It's been hard work to get this far but we don't want to lose all the hard work we've achieved during a pandemic and a cost of living crisis.
"There are still people out there who need our support.
"If we don't get that funding we'll most likely have to close down by the end of the year."
A crowdfunding page has been set up HERE.
It says: "Eggcup is a fantastic charity working across the Lancaster district to support people in financial difficulties.
"Eggcup has worked tirelessly to support people throughout the pandemic and the cost of living crisis and Eggcup now desperately needs a lifeline of its own!
"If we cannot quickly raise core funds, Eggcup will close in January 2025 and everything Eggcup contributes to the district will be lost. Donations to this fundraiser will go directly to our core costs to see us through this crisis period.
"Eggcup works with food. We do a lot of different things but the core of our work rests on the fact that we operate a professional 5* food warehouse. We save good surplus food from going to waste. We process and package food to make it retail ready. Our members come every week to our community outlets and the food is affordable. Hundreds of households save money every week which can make the difference between staying OK or falling into crisis.
"Eggcup also runs a district-wide buying cooperative, procuring low-cost staples at discount. Our members buy direct from the cooperative and other local food groups also buy from the cooperative so they can broaden their own offer.
"Eggcup works with Lancaster & Morecambe College. We send them surplus food and they create tasty and healthy frozen meals. Eggcup also works with local regenerative food projects. We support Gather, the local food hub, providing warehousing and logistics support. We are always trying to work collaboratively and progressively, building bridges between food poverty work and sustainable food projects. We have a hundred volunteers who work in our warehouse and outlets, as well as behind the scenes on admin and driving and food preparation.
"Eggcup does have a viable medium-term plan for sustainable development. We're going to scale up production of our ready meals and sell them to a wider audience. Our meals are waste-busting, CO2 saving, they have a social justice message, they let people pay-it-forward locally, and of course they are affordable, delicious and convenient! We believe in this plan, but like all revenue generating plans it will take time to roll out and make a return.
"We’d love people to invest in our development plan but right now we need a significant sum to see us through. We are trying all avenues and approaching all stakeholders. We know there are great people in our district who appreciate the work Eggcup does, who think that a good society involves everyone pulling together. And there are people who would support Eggcup, who don’t even know about us yet! So please donate if you can and share this fundraiser with everyone you know, because the more people we reach, the more chance we have of saving Eggcup!"
Eggcup has a stall at this weekend's Light Up Lancaster festival as part of the food market in Market Square. This is open on Friday and Saturday evening.
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