ALDI CARDIFF - CITY LINK RETAIL PARK

Al-Ikhlas Culture and Education Centre has been established since 2013. We are located in the heart of Adamsdown, not only does it serve the local residents but it is also within walking distance of Lynx House, a refugee centre housing refugees and asylum seekers from the Asian, Middle east and African Continents. This allows us to provide them with vital services they need, and we do our best to make them feel at home with us and bring them a sense of community. During a community consultation we found that one area that many felt they are struggling with is food; especially for families with children. 89% stated that they would attend a food bank so that they are able to feed their families. With 99% expressing their preference that the Centre has its own foodbank. The statistics for the local area show that 45% of pupils attending Adamsdown Primary School are eligible for free school meals, which is well above the national average. Clearly indicating to us that the local community are from low income families and need more support. We strongly feel that having access to a foodbank can contribute to enabling more people to fulfill their potential by working to address issues at the earliest possibility. The foodbank has been running now for just one month and we have been inundated with service users, handing out over 60 vouchers in this short period of time. As a result we are struggling to keep up with the demand for food and are concerned we will have to begin turning people away. We hope that with support we can continue to provide this service and help those struggling with a very much needed necessity for them and their families.

Our aim is to create a positive impact on the health of the local community and, especially, individuals living in low-income situations. We provide a breakfast club for members of the community every Thursday morning from our base at the STAR Centre on Splott Road. Each week, a team of 20+ volunteers work together to collect food donations from local supermarkets, cook a hot breakfast and prepare essential food bags to give out to between 40 and 80 people. The breakfast club not only feeds people, it connects the community, decreases loneliness and isolation and gives people purpose through volunteering opportunities. We also offer a delivery service for infirm or isolated individuals and offer a 'warm space' for those who are unable to heat their homes, providing a warm welcome, company and refreshment.

To promote the benefit of the inhabitants of butetown and the neighbourhood without distinction of sex or of political, religious or other opinions, to advance education and to provide facilities in the interest of social welfare for recreation and leisure time with the object of improving the conditions of life for the said inhabitants.