Community Meals serves its final meal

MELKSHAM Community Meals has sadly served its last meal. 

The local service, which gave anyone feeling lonely or isolated a space to meet others and have a ‘home-cooked’ meal – has been unable to find replacements for its two chefs, forcing it to close. 

The Melksham Community Meals team hosted their last Sunday lunch service at the Assembly Hall on Sunday 10th July. Its weekly Tuesday service at the Riverside Club is also closing permanently. 

The service was set up in 2019 following a campaign led by Sue Mortimer in response to Wiltshire Council’s axing of the long-standing Melksham Lunch Club in December 2018. 

Since its launch it has served thousands of meals, supported its regulars through the Covid lockdowns, and entertained its customers with a number of themed meals. 

“Melksham Community Meals has sadly come to an end,” said Sue, chair of Melksham Community Meals. “Replacement chefs have been unable to be found after both Sue Hutchinson and Elvy Schofield resigned last month for personal reasons.  

“My team and I took over running the meals service from Wiltshire Council in February 2019. When the service was being lost in December 2018, I was pleased with the support of the other directors – June, Pauline, Roger and later Elaine – and a cheerful hard-working band of volunteers to have been able to take it on.  

“It has been fun and rewarding seeing people coming together. We will all, both users and volunteers, miss it for sure.  

“We had 92 people for our final meal at the Assembly Hall on Sunday 10th July and we would like to say a big thank you for all their support throughout our time of running the service. It was with a heavy heart that we had to say goodbye, but we have made many friends and hopefully we can keep in touch.”