ILMINSTER NEWS: Friendship is the key to new group

THE Tesco store in Ilminster has linked up with other organisations in the town to launch a new weekly Friendship Group which looks to reach out to those who are ‘hard to reach’ in the community.

The group is looking to welcome people of all ages from Ilminster to the Ile Youth Club at Frog Lane every Thursday from 11am.

The new group launched earlier this month and in the weeks ahead here will be refreshments, guest speakers, activities and a chance to chat and make new friends, while there will be games and things to do for young children.

Crucially the Friendship Group will also be holding a “food share” initiative where Tesco will be providing food which can be taken away by people for free.

The Ilminster store manager Sara Goodchild said that Tesco nationally has promised that by January 2018 it will not be throwing any food away.

The Tesco store in Ilminster already works closely with local schools and a food share group in the town, but still has capacity to do more with unsold food and so the idea of a Friendship Group began to evolve.

The idea has been given the full backing of Ilminster Mayor, Cllr Val Keitch, who said: “I was asked to get involved and immediately I was very keen when I heard what it was all about.

“There are a lot of people in Ilminster who feel as if they are excluded from things that are going on in the town for one reason or another.

“We hope that the Friendship Group will reach out to those people who are ‘hard to reach’ in our community.

“I am 100 per cent behind this and think it will be a great success – it’s another part of the jigsaw to include everyone in something going on in the town.”

The group is open to individuals, families and senior citizens – everyone is invited to go along.

The Ilminster Lions Club is involved as part of the national group’s 100 years of community involvement, while there is further support from the youth club, church and the already up-and-running “food share” scheme operated by the Minster Church from the Sweet Surprise café premises in Silver Street.

PHOTO: The launch of the new Friendship Group in Ilminster with the town’s Tesco store manager Sara Goodchild (front left) and Ilminster Mayor, Cllr Val Keitch (front right), with supporters.

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