Rhyl’s New MealCentre, Offering Affordable Meal Kits to the Community

Social homes provider ClwydAlyn and affordable food enterprise Well-Fed have teamed up to offer Rhyl residents access to a new affordable-food MealCentre. The MealCentre, which supplies subsidised meal kits, is open to the public and weekly orders are now being taken.

Following a successful pilot scheme, social homes provider ClwydAlyn has come together with food-solutions organisation Well-Fed to offer residents access to high quality, affordable and UPF (ultra-processed-food) free meals kits, and freshly made ready meals directly into the community. With a focus on improving lives through innovative and accessible food solutions, a varied selection of meal kits and slow cooker kits are available at an affordable, subsidised cost, to pick-up from the MealCentre, located in Rhyl’s Holy Trinity Building in the grounds of St Thomas’s church. At the same time, users of the MealCentre are given the confidence and skills needed to understand how to feed themselves and their families well!

Well-Fed’s MealCentre programme has been designed to get good food into the heart of the community, at a reasonable cost. Each meal-kit is quick and easy to prepare, with complete ingredients measured out and a simple to follow, step-by-step recipe card, making preparation easy and accessible.

Pilot Participants’ Feedback

Twelve local families took part in Well-Fed’s Rhyl MealCentre pilot. Here’s what some of the participants had to say about their experience:

“I enjoyed cooking the meals and we found the portion sizes really good.”

“We’ve had bolognaise, cottage pie and more. My found children are good eaters and they have all enjoyed the meals.”

“Two of my children really enjoyed helping me cook the meals.”

“I was interested to see what the meals entailed and enjoyed cooking them.”

“My favourite was the Hunters Chicken; there were plenty of ingredients, it was all fresh and very tasty.”

“I liked the lasagne, pulled pork, and the Italian meatballs. The portion sizes were good and my family got involved in making the meals.”

Welcoming the Community to the MealCentre

The Rhyl MealCentre gives local individuals and families access to tasty, nutritious meals. Those who may struggle to source and plan well-priced meals can place an order each week, from a selection of recipes, which range in price from £4.50 to £12.50 per meal kit. The kits typically feed a family of four, with individual ready meals also available. Using the meal kits helps to give users the confidence and skills to understand preparation and cooking, with high-quality ingredients offered at an affordable price.

“Access to good, healthy and tasty food is so important. We want all our residents to eat well, save time and enjoy a stress-free meal experience, that’s why we teamed up with Well Fed to support the launch of this important community project.
“The meals available from the MealCentre are quick and easy to cook and delicious! We hope that people take advantage of this new service available in the heart of Rhyl.”

Hannah Burton

Community Development Manager, ClwydAlyn

What is on Offer at the Rhyl MealCentre?

The meal kits available include everything needed to cook a homemade meal, with pre-measured ingredients for less waste. Menus change on a regular basis. Some examples of dishes include:

Creamy chicken and mushroom pasta
Sweet potato chilli with corn cakes
One pot chicken biryani
Smoky bbq chicken traybake
Roast chicken, Yorkshire puddings, stuffing, veg and gravy
Mushroom risotto

“We’re proud to be working alongside ClwydAlyn and the dedicated volunteers here in Rhyl, to make good food easier for everyone to access. The MealCentre is all about dignity, choice and supporting people to cook great meals at home without stress or unnecessary cost. It’s designed for anyone who wants convenient, great-tasting meals made with real ingredients. By bringing fresh ingredients, simple recipes and real support into the heart of the community, we’re helping families and individuals feel confident in the kitchen and excited about mealtimes again.”

Faith Lightfoot

Social Programmes & Campaigns Manager at Well-Fed

“Food is immensely important to wellbeing so we are so pleased to have an opportunity to bring local, healthy, low-cost meals to people in Rhyl in partnership with Clwyd Alyn and Well-Fed.
“As the church, we should care about food and nourishment – remember the central act of worship in the Christian church is set around a family meal table! And from the beginning of creation God has been concerned about making sure his human family had food in plants, fruit and seeds. But the sad truth is that many are suffering from food poverty and an epidemic of unhealthy cheap food. With this project we just want to do our bit to make good, healthy food more accessible to people in Rhyl.”

Rev’d Helen Gheorghiu Gould

Priest of St Thomas’ Church, Rhyl

Ordered meals are available for collection from the Community Café in the Holy Trinity Building in the grounds of St Thomas Church in Rhyl. The MealCentre is run by volunteers, with meals parcelled up securely and refrigerated so families can collect orders at their convenience, between 11.00am and 2.30pm each Tuesday.

To find out more, drop into the St Thomas Community Café, or visit: Collection Hubs – Well Fed and select Holy Trinity Church, Rhyl.

You can contact the Well-Fed team by emailing: info@well-fed.co.uk