The team from St Mark’s Meals, a local Milton Keynes based charity dedicated to helping children who are experiencing food poverty, were surprised by a visit from King Charles III to their warehouse last week.
His Majesty the King came to Milton Keynes on Thursday to formally mark city status. He then requested to visit MK Foodbank and St Mark’s Meals.
“We share a workspace with MK Foodbank who had been asked to host His Majesty the King. But it was all a big secret. The place has never looked so tidy and a small army of foodbank volunteers arrived to meet a special guest along with our staff at St Mark’s Meals.” said Angie Row, Project Co-ordinator at St Mark’s Meals.
“When the carpark was empty, there were police guards at the door and we knew the King was in Milton Keynes that day, it became likely that he would be paying us a visit. We were so pleased that he spent time talking to each of us and looking at our Meals boxes.
"Those same boxes we showed The King have now been delivered to a local Children’s Centre for distribution to families who are struggling.
Angie continued, “He asked me if we get much feedback from the children that use our boxes. When I told him that the curry was popular, he seemed surprised and said he hoped it wasn’t too spicy for children!”
St Marks Meals provide meal kit boxes to schools all across Milton Keynes so that teachers can give a box away to feed the whole family whenever they see there is a need.
Rev Paul Oxley, founder of St Mark’s Meals, said, “We know that children sometimes go hungry because there isn’t enough food at home, we wanted to change that to make sure that a good Meal is always available to children whenever they need it.”
Anyone interested in supporting the work of St Mark’s Meals can do so by making a one-off or regular donation, fundraising, or simply joining the mailing list on the St Mark’s Meals website.
PHOTO GALLERY The King visits Milton Keynes
"We were surprised but delighted to be asked to host His Majesty the King at MK Food Bank. The request to visit a food bank in the city had come directly from him so his interest was clearly genuine," Louisa Hobbs, Operations Manager for Milton Keynes Food Bank said.
"The difficulty then was keeping the visit secret! We invited 80 of our volunteers and supporters to join us on the day and could only tell them the true nature of the visit an hour before. Some people had definitely put two and two together but others were absolutely shocked and came up to me afterwards in disbelief. The King was genuinely interested in our work and so friendly. He made sure he spoke to every single person and found out what they do for us. It was a really human touch. I think everybody was absolutely thrilled though and will remember this day for the rest of their lives.
"Not only that though, but prior to the visit he orchestrated, through Prince of Wales’s Charitable Fund, donations of 2 large fridge freezers to our serving centres, Frank Moran Centre and The Winter Night Shelter – and connected MK Food Bank with organisations who can support us with food supplies."
