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'We want community meals to end loneliness'

Nicola Haseler/BBC Maria Affa in the kitchen at Fishermead Trinity Centre. She is wearing a green blouse and a green apron.Nicola Haseler/BBC
Maria Affa said the aim of the Making Good Better breakfast club was to put an end to loneliness

A small charity which provides affordable hot meals and socialising has said demand is growing following an expansion.

Making Good Better, in Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, has increased its breakfast club, at the Fishermead Trinity Centre, from two to four days a week.

A cooked breakfast was priced at £2.60 and tea and coffee was free.

Maria Affa, who is behind the project, said her aim had always been to put an end to loneliness.

Nicola Haseler/BBC Volunteers chat around a table at the Making Good Better breakfast club in Milton KeynesNicola Haseler/BBC
Volunteers chat around a table as Ms Affa said her charity would not exist "without the people who also support me"

It was about four years ago, that Ms Affa decided she wanted to support the African community in the city, but she did not expect there to be such wide demand for a hot meal and a chat.

She said people had previously not been sure how to support the Fishermead community, one of the most deprived estates in the city.

Now, due to demand, it has recently increased its hours from Mondays and Wednesdays to include lunches on Tuesdays and Saturdays.

"We have brought a lot of changes into this community, when we started there was no food larder here...it was eye-opening to other people and we are proud of that," she said.

"People come here…they feel safe, they feel loved."

As well as the home-cooked breakfast, people were "coming to socialise, to interact with people".

"As we all know, being isolated brings mental health problems, and that is what we are fighting," she added.

"We are not doctors or nurses, but what we are doing, I think, is a great help."

Nicola Haseler/BBC Tony Hill is wearing brown rimmed glasses and is looking straight at the camera. he is wearing a red and grey jacket with a hood.Nicola Haseler/BBC
Tony Hill said the support he received helped in his recovery from drug addiction

Musician, Tony Hill, whose drug addiction led him to living on the streets for eight months, has been able to get clean thanks to the charity's support.

"Like me, there's a lot of people out there that don't get help, especially if you live on your own," he said.

"And when you're scared of the world because you've seen the dark side of it, it's very hard to open up and let people in, but here it's just natural.

"It was a long road to recovering and getting clean... but luckily, around here, a lot of people make it because of what people do here."