Butterfield Centre trustees set out their plans for future services in Bourne
Trustees of a community centre say they are looking at ways to help a wider cross-section of people.
Questions have been asked over changes at The Butterfield Centre in Bourne which has focused on supporting the elderly.
From next week the centre will no longer provide a meals-on-wheels service at weekends or bank holidays.
Weekly coffee mornings and lunch clubs at the North Road building have also been scrapped as volunteers focus their efforts on the community pantry and warm hub.
John Dean, whose father has used meals-on-wheels, said: “At a time when I thought services would be increased, they are being drastically reduced.
“Meals-on-wheels is also a welfare check on vulnerable people.
“My father once had a fall and was found by the meals-on-wheels volunteer. He was on the floor for six hours and would have been much longer if it hadn’t been for her.”
Chairman of trustees, Peter Dolby, explained that the weekend service was only introduced in January 2021 when the centre had an influx of volunteers.
The number of helpers has since dwindled, resulting in trustees giving up their own weekends to deliver meals to just 20 clients.
The lunch club was also only attracting a limited number of regular visitors.
Peter said: “There’s a false perception that all the people who use meals-on-wheels are stuck at home and can’t get out. That is not the case. Some are in social housing but some are at the other end of the spectrum.”
They said users were given three months’ notice and, according to Peter, have been “on the whole very understanding”.
He added: “We are hearing more and more about ‘eat or heat’. The social needs of the country have changed and we need to move with that.”
The pantry collects food at the end of its shelf-life which is then distributed free of charge.
Trustee Ian Greenfield said: “It was set up to reduce the amount of food going to landfill, but now it’s about feeding the people who need feeding.”
In addition to expanding the pantry, efforts are now focused on providing a ‘warm hub’.
For six months the centre will open on Wednesdays between 10am and 6pm for people who struggle to pay their heating bills.
Further down the line, the team hopes to introduce an adult numeracy scheme, incorporating budgeting and cooking skills.
Ian Sismey added: “The idea is to give a wider service to a bigger proportion of the community.
“The financial reports show that things hadn’t been working and sometimes you have to put a hold on things.
“We want to go forward with a service that helps a greater number of people at a lower cost.”
Questions have been asked about the centre’s finances, with reserves increasing from £14,917 in 2020 to £103,918 in 2021.
Some of the money comes from donations which are earmarked for specific uses, such as a grant from a cycling club for work on the kitchen.
These donations will remain in the account until the specified work can be done.
Peter added: “We keep money in reserves so we don’t have to panic if something happens. We need to be ale to cope with whatever comes our way.”
The trustees said they welcome other suggestions from people on how they can best serve the community.
l The Butterfield Centre community pantry is open Mondays, Wednesday and Fridays from midday until 1pm.
The warm hub is open on Wednesdays from 10am until 6pm.