A MOBILE food pantry has launched in the borough this week to improve access to vital goods for residents.

The St Helens first was created with nearly £125,000 of Government funding and officially launched today, Thursday, March 16.

The new mobile service will travel across the borough every week, giving residents the opportunity to access food and other essential goods.

The mobile pantry forms part of the existing static pantry service network in St Helens Borough, where residents are able to sign up as members for free which then allows them, for a small fee, to select up to ten items during each visit to the pantry.

The vehicle used to provide the service is a former police van which has been transformed into a mobile food pantry.

Following the official launch, the mobile food pantry will be visiting these areas between 10:30am-12:30pm on a weekly basis:

Wargrave big local community hub – Mondays

Sutton Children's Centre - Tuesdays

Park Farm Community Centre – Thursdays

It is hoped additional sites will be added to the St Helens mobile pantry route in the near future.

Other food pantries operating in the borough include the following:

St Mathews Pantry, Thatto Heath - Monday 6:30pm- 8pm and Wednesday 8:45am - 11:30am

Hope Panty, St Helens Town Centre - Tuesday 11am - 1pm

St Lukes Pantry, Eccleston - Wednesday 3:30pm - 5:30pm

St Marks T.A.N.G.O, Haydock - Thursday 8:50am - 11am

Sutton Food Pantry - Sunday 1:30pm - 3:30pm

To register to access the mobile pantry, visit https://sthelensmobilepantry.org.uk and https://www.yourlocalpantry.co.uk/ for further details on the community food pantry network.