Staff at a miners' welfare club and volunteers have banded together to form Meals on the Hill to feed financially vulnerable families.

Deal Welfare Club in Cowdray Square has been granted £30,000 from the National Lottery Community Fund to provide families in Deal with a hot meal and food parcel each week for six months.

To help deliver the food safely, the venture has also been awarded £678 from the Dover District Council Covid -19 Community Fund.

Ron Kempshall, who successfully bid for the money, said: "On behalf of those families in Deal, The Deal Welfare Club would like to thank both funders in giving us the opportunity to help people who need feeding in these difficult times."

It is not the first time the club has pulled together to help families in times of crisis.

During the year long strike of the miners in 1984-85 they fed all the local mining families, both breakfast and evening meals with food parcels donated from around the world.

Then in 1988 in the year long strike of P &O, the seafarers' families were also fed.

The lottery cash allows Meals on the Hill to select 100 people who will get three meals per week.

Club stewardess Karen Sherred has been co-ordinating the project.

She said: There are a number of individuals and organisation that have helped bring this together. Particular thanks goes to Stacey Clarke at the DDC community hub, Gary Cox and White Cliffs Radio."

If you would like to receive these meals please contact the club on 075260959884 or to donate food parcels or sums of money, call the same number.

The club, which been closed since March, reopens on Saturday with full social distancing measure in place.

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