Gloucester Feed The Hungry has been nominated in The BIG Christmas Giveback which aims to give back to local heroes, with £1500 in Gloucester Gift Cards as a possible prize.
A Gloucester community interest group (CIC) that operates a community café providing up to 1200 free meals each week, a food bank, and a Christmas campaign delivering 10,000 festive gifts has been nominated in a national competition.
Gloucester Feed The Hungry is a nominee in The BIG Christmas Giveback, which seeks to shine a light on the people and organisations making a positive impact on local communities. The person or organisation with the most nominations in the competition will win a £1000 Town & City Gift Card, such as the Gloucester Gift Card, with one person who nominated them winning a £500 gift card.
The Gloucester based CIC encompasses Smiles Café, a hot meal and warm space which is open Tuesday to Saturday, 9am to 3pm. A food bank operates from the upstairs room of Smiles Café, offering food, clothes and toiletries.
Hash Norat founded Gloucester Feed The Hungry 9 years ago, and said: “After selling our family business, starting Gloucester Feed The Hungry was about doing what was right for the city. From the initial idea to running our first food programme was a matter of days. During lockdown we worked 13 hour days, delivering food parcels as far as Bristol, with great support from my employer Unilever who produced pot noodles for distribution.
“After giving up my job at Unilever 3 years ago, we opened Smiles Café which is an affordable community coffee shop where everyone is welcome. Those that can’t afford to pay don’t pay. It’s cheap as chips with hot drinks from £1. It’s not only about homeless people but vulnerable people too, and we have many vulnerable individuals visiting us at the café to get something to eat but also to chat. And we give them all the time they need.
“At Christmas, we have up to 100 volunteers who deliver food to those in need but will also spend an hour with them, making what could be an awful day spent on their own into a day where they’ve had good food and company. Right now, our annual Christmas campaign is asking for donations of chocolate, toiletries, toys and filled shoe boxes for distribution to children’s wards, shelters, community groups and key workers during the festive season.
“If we won The BIG Christmas Giveback, it would go back into supporting the homeless and vulnerable and thanking the volunteers who make Gloucester Feed The Hungry possible. They are the real heroes and we’d love to make sure their work is recognised and celebrated.”
Liz Bradford nominated Gloucester Feed The Hungry and said the CIC deserves recognition: “Gloucester Feed The Hungry is a fantastic community group that supports so many people in Gloucester and beyond. They provide hot and cold meals, winter clothing, hold fundraising events and even work on Christmas Day to make sure people have a Christmas dinner.
“They also support people into homes, providing the essential items to build a home and their first week’s shop. The group is all run by volunteers and they deserve so much recognition. When people have fallen on hard times, they give them hope.
“I’d love to see Gloucester Feed The Hungry win the Gloucester Gift Card because they could do so much with it. I’ve used the card myself and it’s a great idea because it keeps money in Gloucester and encourages local shopping.”
Gloucester’s gift card was introduced by Gloucester Business Improvement District (BID) in November 2019 as a way to encourage local shopping and keep spend locked into the area.
Claire Knight, Marketing & Business Engagement Lead at Gloucester BID said: “Since its launch in 2019, the Gloucester Gift Card has consistently given back to the city, by making it easy to ‘shop local’ and support Gloucester businesses. We’re backing The BIG Christmas Giveback this year because there are many charities, community groups and individuals in Gloucester who also consistently give back to the city, and this national competition is a chance to recognise them.
“Gloucester Feed The Hungry does outstanding work for our community. Please take a moment to nominate them, or another Gloucester based person or organisation for this national recognition.”
The Gloucester Gift Card is part of the award winning Town & City Gift Card concept from fintech Miconex. Over 20,000 local businesses are part of Miconex’s local gift card programs around the world with over £45m spent locally through the cards.
Colin Munro, CEO of Miconex, said: “The Gloucester Gift Card is a force for good in the city and for the 170 plus businesses who accept the card. The BIG Christmas Giveback is also about giving back, and shining a light on local hero individuals, charities and organisations. The nomination for Gloucester Feed The Hungry shows the valuable work that charities and community groups do within our communities. The competition closes on November 28th 2025.”
Nominate a person or organisation in The BIG Christmas Giveback at: www.lovelocalwin.co.uk
Image: Hash Norat and customer outside Smiles Community Coffee Shop on The Oxebode.
