Spennymoor lunch club can buy cooking equipment thanks to Asda grant

Our Spennymoor store's community champion Donna Dargue popped in to see Hirst Court Residents Group to give them a £575 grant from the Asda Foundation.

The Hirst Court lunch club meets every fortnight and will use the money to buy cooking equipment as well as hot plates to make it easier to deliver meals to disabled and elderly residents who can't attend the club.

Resident and organiser Alan Black helped set up the lunch club when he moved to Hirst Court with his wife Tracey. He cooks all the meals for the club in his own home and the more active residents help to serve it in the community centre. The lunch club relies entirely on donations so Alan is delighted with the Asda funding.

"I'd like to say thank you to Asda and I'm looking forward to working with Donna in the future," he said.

Donna will be volunteering with the lunch club every fortnight, helping serve, wash up and chat to residents. One of the oldest residents who attends the lunch club has just celebrated her 95th birthday – with a cake at the lunch club.

Residents pay £2 each for a hot meal and unlimited cups of tea and coffee. And a cake whenever it's anyone's birthday. At Christmas a few of the residents cook a Christmas meal for everyone.

Alan said: "I like to shop at Asda Spennymoor. It's one of the smaller Asdas but it's absolutely fantastic for its range. Hats off to Spenny - it's a good wee shop they run. There's everything you need there."