The wonderful generosity of people and organisations from across Cornwall has been praised by organisers of Cornwall Christmas Box who say an incredible 965 boxes of festive food - almost double last year’s amount - have been donated to help local families in need this year.

Cornwall Christmas Box was set up by members of the Truro Vineyard Church in 2002, to ensure that families living in extreme poverty could still enjoy a special meal at Christmas. Initially focused on a small number of families in the local area, the organisation has now grown to cover the whole of Cornwall.

Last year 540 Christmas dinner boxes were donated from all corners of Cornwall. This year five vans driven by volunteers and supporters from the charity spent a day travelling more than 500 miles across the county to pick up the 965 boxes from 37 collection points from; Launceston, Kilkhampton and Bodmin in North and East Cornwall; to Newquay, St Austell and Truro in Mid Cornwall; and Redruth and Penzance in West Cornwall and everywhere in between.

Collections points included secondary and primary schools, local churches and community centres, cafes, restaurants and pubs and businesses of all shapes and sizes.

Once safely collected, the boxes were delivered to Cornwall Council offices where social workers from the authority’s Children’s Early Help, Social Care and Psychology Service team will give them to those in the greatest need, including families with young carers, families who are escaping domestic abuse and with loved ones in hospital, and those who use family centres.

This year boxes were also delivered to three local charities who work with families in need – the Noah Project in Newquay, Food for Families in Penzance, and the Hain Project and Salvation Army in St Ives.

Hannah Danson, one of the organisers of the Cornwall Christmas Box scheme, said the response from the public had been magnificent and went far beyond what they had been expecting.

“We know that there are families in Cornwall for whom Christmas goes by almost un-celebrated. They don’t have enough money to feed everyone properly on a normal day, let alone provide a feast for Christmas. There are also families where the parent or parents will go without food themselves, so that they can provide presents for the children.”

“Some parents are dreading Christmas and become very emotional when they are given one of our boxes. For many it is not just about the food – it is the fact that someone cares.”

“We would like to thank everyone who has donated a box this year – your generosity will make a huge difference to the lives of hundreds of families in need this Christmas.”