Beverley girl, 5, hands out hundreds of hot meals to people struggling with rising costs

A five-year-old girl from Beverley has teamed up with her older brother to hand out hundreds of hot meals to people struggling over the festive period.

Annalise Rose and her brother Kieran Newton, 22, have been dishing up cooked dinners to people at Beverley Masonic Hall after Freemasons in the town collected thousands of pounds in donations of food and gifts.

More than 2,500 meals have so far been given out by the group since May this year after they noticed a growing demand for extra support.

Kieran, who leads the team cooking the food, told ITV News: "Although Beverley is seen to be one of the more affluent areas of Yorkshire, it’s a town of two halves with the more affluent side but also the side that does struggle quite a lot.

"The cost of living is going up and everyone deserves to have hot food and somewhere warm to sit. It’s the festive season. No one wants to be sat at home, cold and miserable."

As well as handing out meals, the group has also been giving out gifts to some of the young families attending the meals staged over several days this month.

There are also plans to expand the service into Hull in the New Year, while continuing to offer hot meals to those who need them in Beverley.

Among those accessing the support is mum-of-three Monique Menzies-Baird.

She told ITV News: "Times are tough.

"You get anxious putting your heating on when you shouldn’t have to but those are the times we’re living in and something like this just takes the edge off - you know your kids are happy, they’ve got something to do."

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