The former landlord of a community pub has told the ECHO how "emptying the fridges" during the first national lockdown evolved into a scheme that has fed thousands in need and continues to work with vulnerable people.
Adam Franklin has been behind the Horse & Jockey in Melling with wife Sue for almost seven years. Earlier this week, the ECHO revealed that the couple have walked away from the pub for good following a "saga" with landlord Stonegate. The couple's new venue, Alba, has launched down the road.
Residents have spoken out about the closure, with Col Veacock calling it "a disaster": "There's people alive now who would have died during lockdown thanks to the efforts of this couple and the pub."
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Adam and Sue sent out an estimated 20,000 hot meals to those in need during the first lockdown, a scenario that snowballed from the simple act of 'emptying the fridge to wait it out' in uncertain times.
"When lockdown hit, we knew a lot of our customers were elderly or single," Adam said. "The plan was to empty the fridge, support people in the local area and wait it out really.
"The response from the community was amazing. We had 40 volunteers signed up in a beat. All of a sudden food vans started turning up. Restaurants were closing down and they'd heard about what we were doing. We were sending meal as far as Huyton every day.
"People were dealing with things like chemo at the time. Someone said 'the only thing giving us peace of mind is my dad getting a hot meal every day from the Jockey'. Our 'Listening Ear' service also had a huge impact. Everyone who had signed up for something was also getting a phonecall every day from a volunteer."
The couple now runs a community cooking course known as Fedup, which "evolved" from their efforts during lockdown.
Adam told the ECHO: "We work with housing associations to put people through cooking courses. It's all about slow cookers and the fuel economy."
"Fedup is the legacy of the pandemic. We couldn't have run a business and a food bank.
"We'd been doing something on and off for about 12 years after I was asked by Trussel Trust to live off a food parcel and I couldn't do it. We've got courses now booked in for the next six months and we've just done training courses with Feeding Liverpool.
The Franklin's new venue, Alba, will be the new home of Fedup. The couple have taken over the former Pear Tree pub between Melling and Maghull after it was destined to "become a nursery or shop".
The launch is a return to their "restaurant roots", with Adam having worked at the likes of Daphne's in London.
Adam called the venue "a little princess". He added: "It's a gem of a building. There aren't many restaurants around here and the common consensus was 'we just need a nice little Italian restaurant'.
"It's a labour of love that's been opened under difficult circumstances but future bookings are looking great."
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