A BLACKBURN charity that delivers hot meals to people in need is going from strength to strength.

Shamim Patel, 28, was inspired to set up Food For Thought after ill health forced her to give up her job as an occupational therapist.

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She realised that without the support of her family she would be unable to enjoy a hot meal.

So Shamim called on her 80-strong extended family who helped her to set up the project.

Both her uncle and her brother have catering businesses, Deli Delight and Adams Rasoi, and they cook the hot meals, while Shamim and an army of volunteers pack and deliver them.

A typical meal could be spaghetti bolognese with a bread roll, a banana, and a bottle of water, or vegetable rice with chicken, a banana, a bottle of water, and a flapjack.

Shamim approached Blackburn charity Al-Imdaad Foundation, which was happy to allow her to use their Audley office as a base from which to give out the meals.

She has also received support from other local charities – Tauheedul Charity gives her fresh food that is donated to its foodbank at the Olive School, and which isn’t suitable for food parcels.

She uses this food as well as meat donated by Adams Rasoi to help provide the meals, and thanks to external funding through a Justgiving page, Shamim is now able to provide one hundred hot meals every week, on Sundays between 11am and 1pm.

There is no means testing and the meals are given out free to anyone who feels they need one.

Her family has committed to fund the project for at least the next 12 months, and she hopes that as funding grows the number of meals she provides will also grow.

The charity has already started expanding into other areas of Blackburn, including Mill Hill and Shadsworth, with ‘pop up’ stands.

Shamim said: “We’ve given out 329 meals so far, over the past five weeks, it’s quite exciting.

“When I couldn’t go to work it was quite distressing.

“And I thought there’s people out there who don’t have this family support.

“In my line of work I saw people who could barely afford gas or electricity, and I wanted to give something back.”

To donate visit www.justgiving.com/F4T/