Broadstairs Community Urged to Help Beat Food Poverty

Chartwell House by Boutique Care Homes, situated in Broadstairs, Kent, is calling on the local community to help fill the shelves of this year’s Festive Food Pantry, an annual Christmas donation drive it runs in partnership with the Parish of St Laurence. Now in its fifth year, the pantry will open its doors at St Christopher’s Church, Ramsgate, on Saturday 5th December 2026, from 10am to 2pm, and organisers say the need for donations is as pressing as ever.

The idea began small in 2022: a handful of care home staff, church volunteers and a table of tinned goods, put together to make sure no family in Thanet went without over Christmas. Five years on, it has become one of the area’s most reliably supported community traditions. More than 100 families have been helped since the pantry launched, and last year’s event alone supported around 100 families in a single day.

For Hollie Humphrey, Head of Lifestyle and Wellbeing at Chartwell House, the pantry has grown into something the home’s residents look forward to every year, not just something done on their behalf. “Our residents help us sort and pack the donations before the event, and it means a huge amount to them to know their work is going to families just down the road,” she says. “It keeps them connected to the community outside our doors, and it reminds everyone, staff and residents alike, why we do what we do.”

Suggested Donations Include:

• Tinned & Jar Food

• Non-perishable Food

• Pasta and Rice

• Christmas Biscuits

• Christmas Pudding

• Mince Pies

• Food Items for Pets

• Christmas Treats

Please note:

• No frozen or fresh fruit and veg

• All items must have a use-by date after 25/12/2025

Any food left at the end of the day doesn’t go to waste. It’s passed to Newington Primary School, which supports more than 600 families and runs its own dedicated hardship fund for those who need extra help over the holidays.

Clare Swan, Home Manager at Chartwell House, says the pantry has become a fixture the whole team gets behind. “There’s real warmth in this building around the Festive Food Pantry. Everyone from our kitchen team to our lifestyle team wants to play a part, because it says something about who we are as a home: we look after our own residents, and we look after our neighbours too,” she says. “Being part of something the Parish has built up over five years, and being trusted to help carry it forward, means a great deal to us.”

The Parish of St Laurence has led the pantry since it began, drawing support that has grown well beyond the two founding organisations. Previous years have seen the Bishop of Dover volunteer on the day and the MP for East Thanet attend, a sign of how far the pantry’s reputation has travelled across the community.

For Judith Andrews, Anna Chaplain of the Parish of St Laurence, the scale of support only underlines what’s at stake. “Food poverty doesn’t take a break for Christmas, and for some families in Ramsgate and Broadstairs, this time of year makes things harder, not easier,” she says. “What the Festive Food Pantry gives us is a way to meet that need directly, person to person, and Chartwell House has been a steady, generous partner in making that possible.”

Organisers are now asking local businesses to donate Christmas food items ahead of the event: tinned and jarred goods, non-perishable food, pasta and rice, Christmas biscuits, Christmas pudding, mince pies, pet food, and other festive treats. All donations must have a use-by date after 25th December 2026, and organisers are unable to accept fresh or frozen items.

Donations can be dropped off at Chartwell House Care Home, 26 Draco Drive, Broadstairs, Kent CT9 4FY. Businesses unable to deliver can arrange collection by contacting Hollie Humphrey on 01843 260970.

It’s a small ask that adds up to something significant, and it’s exactly the kind of everyday commitment Chartwell House tries to live by: care that looks outward as much as it looks after the people who call the home theirs.