Fifty local community groups will be supporting families with food and essentials over Christmas and beyond after receiving a share of more than £670,000 from Wirral’s Household Support Fund.

Community-based food and welfare support providers were invited to bid for grants of up to £20,000 to ensure food and essential supplies are available to those most in need over the winter months.

Although the programme was oversubscribed, 50 groups - representing a large majority of the applications made - were successful and have been awarded funding to a combined total of £670,509. These groups will have until 31 March 2022 to spend their grant.

The funding is from the Small Grants Programme, which is part of Wirral’s £3.05m Household Support Fund from the Department for Work and Pensions.

Wirral Council leader, Jeanette Williamson, said: “Community, charity and faith groups have played a huge part in Wirral’s humanitarian effort throughout the pandemic. Being ‘on the ground’ and, in many cases, personally knowing the people who are struggling, has allowed help to be given quickly to those who need it. This funding will allow them to continue their vital work over Christmas and through the difficult winter months ahead.

“I would like to thank everyone taking part for their dedication and hard work, which I know will be greatly appreciated by the many thousands of people it will help.”

Diana Tuohy, manager of Delamere Community Centre in Eastham, said: “Since the start of Covid we have been providing emergency food hampers to people who needed them in our local community. Our award of £10,500 from the Household Support Fund will allow us to continue helping local families and individuals over the coming months by providing essential food and, in some cases, gas and electricity cards to make sure they can warm their homes and have the means to cook the food we provide.”

The 50 local groups receiving funding are:

• Age UK Wirral

• Break The Mould, Noctorum

• Bridging The Wallasey Gap

• Building Bridges Wirral CIC

• Caritas Diocese of Shrewsbury

• Carrbridge Centre Ltd

• Charlotte's Brightside

• Church @ The Cross Birkenhead

• Claremount Specialist Sports College

• Core Project Birkenhead CIC

• Crea8ing Community

• Create UK Ltd

• Eastham Community Centre Ltd

• Equilibrium North West CIC

• Feeding Woodchurch

• Gautby Road Play, Youth and Community Centre

• Heart 4 Refugees

• Heart of Egremont Community Centre

• Hope For New Brighton

• Involve Northwest

• Koala Northwest

• Liscard Primary School Social Supermarket

• Looby Lous Lovely Lunches CIC

• Make It Happen Birkenhead

• Moreton Methodist Church

• Neo Community

• New Brighton Baptist Church

• Nightingales Recovery Café CIC

• North Birkenhead Development Trust

• Number 7 Café

• Prenton Tenants and Residents Association

• Rapid Response North West

• Rock Ferry Salvation Army Community Church

• Sandbrook Social Supermarket

• Seacombe Community Association

• Shaftesbury Youth Club

• St Mary’s Eastham

• The Bromborough Church Institute

• The Little Centre Beechwood Ltd

• The Meeting Place

• The Oak Community Project

• The Outreach Project CIC

• Tomorrow's Women Wirral

• Tranmere Rovers In The Community

• Wake Up Wallasey

• Wirral Advisory Centre

• Wirral Change Limited

• Wirral Deen Centre

• Wirral Development Trust

• Wirral Youth Zone