Real Junk Food Project teams up with Leeds restaurant My Thai to create Christmas fun for more than a thousand people

Leeds-based charity, The Real Junk Food Project, has teamed up with Simon Grybas of My Thai Restaurant to stage a Christmas dinner for ten families of six every weeknight starting from when lockdown is lifted on December 2 until Christmas Eve.

The families will be able to enjoy a buffet, receive presents and enjoy some entertainment complete with Christmas decorations.

Food will be provided by The Real Junk Food Project and cooked by staff and volunteers of MyThai complete with presents, mulled wine, Christmas tree, games and music in a socially distanced outdoor setting.

Dubbed 'Kindness Christmas', Adam Smith, the chief executive officer of The Real Junk Food Project says it will cost £5 per head to put on the food and entertainment as well as the costs and has set up a page on gofundme to raise just over £5,000 and so far a total of £3,100 has been reached.

The Real Junk Food Project is working with local councillors, schools and businesses and a booking system will be operating for families to register for the event. If anyone wants to volunteer they should contact The Real Junk Food Project, which will also be donating any left over food to Hidden Homeless in Leeds to be distributed across the city.

A location for the sessions is to be confirmed, depending on government restrictions when the current lockdown comes to an end.

Mr Smith said: "2020 has been a horrible year, we have lost family members and friends, but it is coming to a special time of year now and there is a lot of negativity in the world. We want to create something positive and to give people a moment they will remember and cherish for the rest of their lives, along with their treasured families."

The Real Junk Food Project has served 12m meals since its inception in 2013 and Simon Grybas of My Thai’s #Inittogether Campaign, provided over 40,000 meals to the vulnerable, elderly, and NHS front line staff throughout the first wave of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Support the YEP and become a subscriber today. Enjoy unlimited access to local news and the latest on Leeds United, With a digital subscription, you see fewer ads, enjoy faster load times, and get access to exclusive newsletters and content. Click here to subscribe.