A LOCAL mother who has helped hundreds of families throughout the pandemic says the response has been "overwhelming".

Sarah Jayne Murphy set up Free Meals, Full Hearts, which was designed to help those struggling in these tough times with hot meals, food parcels and basic essentials like nappies or toiletries.

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Mrs Murphy said: "I soon realised that far too many people were either unable to get the help they needed or unfortunately too self-conscious to reach out.

"Free Meals, Full Hearts can be totally anonymous platform for those needing a little helping hand without shame or embarrassment."

Speaking about the response from the town, Mrs Murphy said it had been "overwhelming."

She added: "It's amazing to see how the community has come together but equally upsetting at the apparent need there was for this service.

"Reading has always stepped up as community in hard times and this is yet another way that the people are showing their love and support by donating food and cooked meals.

"We've been going a little over eight weeks now and the group has grown to over 1.6k members across the Reading, Wokingham and Bracknell region.

"There is an absolutely fantastic team of reps and coordinators who have volunteered their time which has been a essential element to the success of this group."

When asked about her motivation to start this initiative, Mrs Murphy said: "Like many, our household income dramatically changed this year for the worse, there were times where we were really worried how we would feed the kids and survive.

"It's also not in my nature to sit around and do nothing, I am happiest when I’m busy so when I was furloughed six months ago I wanted to use my free time to give back and do something positive.

"We always have left over dinners or food that needs eating so it seemed like a good idea to share what we didn’t need with those who would need it.

"It was only after I started to speak to some of the families which we were helping that our situation was put into perspective and this spurred me on even more to help those less fortunate."

The scheme is still open for others to join in and help.

"If you get in touch with me via Facebook, I can put you in contact with the dedicated rep in your local area," Mrs Murphy said.

"Then any donations - no matter how small, can be dropped off to the rep who will then ensure its evenly and fairly distributed to those in need.

"We're in the process of putting together Christmas hampers for local families which will include things like cheese and crackers, chocolate and other festive staples. If anyone would like to donate, please reach out."

The mother-of-four added that she had never anticipate the level of success Free Meals, Full Hearts has seen.

"What makes me the most proud is how my children have responded to it and how proud they are of me and the groups’ success," she added.

"It has also given my 11-year-old, Benji, a desire to help more in the community and they are more appreciative for things that I think we all take for granted, like a hot dinner before bed."

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The issue of hunger during the pandemic has been in the spotlight this year, with MPs voting in October not to continue with the provision of school meals to children during the school holidays.

Earlier this year, Manchester United footballer Marcus Rashford warned MPs not to "turn a blind eye" to vulnerable families.

The footballer was made an MBE for his efforts and urged his 3.4 million Twitter followers to lobby MPs to back his campaign.

For more information on Free Meals, Full Hearts, visit the Facebook page here.