A ROSSENDALE church is looking to spread the message of healthy eating by serving food to hundreds of people every week.

Friends of St James’ in Haslingden has already raised more than £10,000 to tackle drug abuse, vandalism and loneliness in the town, but has now secured more funding to combat poor health.

The voluntary team, based in Church Lane, has been given a county council grant for £2,000 install a new kitchen as part of a programme which would be run from a community facility at the back of the church.

Reverend Roger Smith said: “Five years ago we completely revamped the inside of the church to open a facility which would serve the community.

“As part of that improvement we installed a kitchen but it was not up to standard for the amount of work we do.

“We are open to everyone even on Christmas day to serve good food, and that is why we applied for the grant.

“As an urban priority it is sometimes a difficult area to work in, but the new kitchen will give us the chance to start a healthy eating programme for the Haslingden people.”

The healthy eating project will be combined with other health initia-tives for young and old people including exercise and weight control schemes.

The group has been working alongside the elderly, young offend-ers and lonely residents since it was formed in 2001.

Though the church is heavily reliant on outside donations to aid its community work, the team are committed to putting their funds to good use.

Mr Smith added: “Every group which donates funds towards our community work receives regular updates from us so they can see exactly where we are up to.

“The county council will receive a letter when the new kitchen is installed in the near future and we’ll be able to show them how our healthy eating service is dev-eloping.”

For more information on the services provided by St James’ Church, visit www.stjameshaslingden.org.uk.