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25
Oct 2023
Resurrected Bites founder thanks Stray Ferret readers for 'godsend' employee
An employee hired using money raised by last year’s Stray Ferret Christmas campaign has been a “godsend”, the founder of Resurrected Bites has said.
Michelle Hayes said the £30,000 raised by the Stray Ferret's campaign was more than expected and a "massive bonus", enabling the charity to take on ex-military man Chris Lidgitt. She said Chris had helped to bring a dose of order and professionalism to operations since joining in April.
Michelle, who set up the charity in 2018 to combat food poverty in the Harrogate district, said:
Chris previously had a farm shop, and before that ran hotels and pubs, but it was his time in the army that arguably made the greatest impression on him.
He spent four-and-a-half years as a soldier in the Life Guards, which is part of the Household Cavalry. He said:
He played at numerous state occasions, including the State Opening of Parliament, and even played on the Champs Elysées in Paris for France’s Bastille Day celebrations.
Chris’s role as operations manager for Resurrected Bites is a far cry from playing for presidents, but he says it’s not an easier job. He said:
Tackling food poverty in Harrogate and Knaresborough
Michelle set up Resurrected Bites with the aim of reducing food waste, loneliness and food poverty in Harrogate and Knaresborough.
It now runs Give As You Can cafés and shops at Gracious Street Methodist Church in Knaresborough on Fridays, at St Paul’s United Reformed Church in Harrogate on Wednesdays, and at Killinghall Methodist Church on Thursdays. These are open to everyone and visitors are simply asked to pay whatever they feel the food is worth or what they can afford.
The charity also runs a community groceries scheme with bases in Harrogate and Knaresborough for people in food poverty.
Research shows that one in five children are living in poverty in the Harrogate district, and Michelle says the problem is growing.
She said:
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