Chippy offering £1 meals with burgers and apples for struggling families

A chip shop owner is offering £1 children’s meals to struggling families to help with the cost of living crisis.

Mel’s Chippy in Penygroes, Carmarthenshire, has run the offer since the start of the summer holidays and the owners have said they have been overwhelmed with the demand.

Sarah and Mel Lewis said they had served more than 250 cut-price dishes in just under one month.

Customers and other businesses have also contributed money and food to help keep the scheme going, the BBC reports.

Having ladled out free soup last October, community worker Mrs Lewis, 48, said she knew the time was right for a follow-up.

She added: ‘It’s mad. We never expected the take-up to be so crazy.

‘This is an area with a higher than average amount of families whose little ones receive free school meals,’ said the mother-of-six.

‘So those six weeks off can be really tough on those mums and dads who might be having a hard time making ends meet.

‘And, with less council-run help initiatives on the go than during Covid, we’re just trying to make things a little bit easier for people.’

She said she was careful to avoid the social stigma that can come with certain types of food aid and wanted this ‘to be as easy going as possible, with no red tape or forms to fill out’.

‘Kids can just pop in and say they want a £1 meal and that’s just what they’ll get.’

Mrs Lewis does her best to make sure her budget menu constantly changes ‘because I see the same faces more or less every single day throughout the holidays I try to make sure they aren’t getting chips all the time’.

As well as the takeaway staple, she offers pasta, curry and rice, and meatballs and mash, as well as a piece of fruit and a drink with each meal.

She added: ‘I just hope little initiatives like this, where everyone clubs together, can create a ripple effect and influence those in power to implement change for the better.’

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