A hard-up dad-of-two has admitted that “all he’s been eating is porridge” while he silently “suffers” through the cost of living crisis.
Leeds man Terry Delattibeaudiere, 56, currently depends on Universal Credit to survive after losing his job as a train security guard during the pandemic. Terry, an asthmatic, was dealt a major health blow after contracting Covid-19 which saw him parting ways with a major railway operator.
The 56-year-old rushed to Indian restaurant Mumtaz in Leeds to pick up a free meal so that he wouldn’t have to spend Christmas Day eating porridge. The restaurant in Chadwick Street, near Leeds Dock, was handing out free meals from midday to help those in need.
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Terry said: “I saw free meals were being hand out on the news so I thought I should come down. It makes me feel good that there’s someone out there caring. If it wasn’t for these guys, I wouldn’t eat as much today. I’d just wait until I get paid again.
“I do go to the foodbank a lot. If I didn’t get this, I’d have eaten porridge. I’m really short on money so porridge is all I’ve been eating. It’s not good.”
Terry’s two children, 28 and 30, currently live and work in London. He says part of the reason he wasn’t with family today was due to rail strikes, he says he sympathises with the workers.
Terry said: “The cost of living crisis is a joke. People can’t afford it. We’re suffering, the Government should do more and everyone’s going on strike because inflation is so high.
“I’m a qualified gas fitter so I want to get back to work next month, I need to! Sitting at home 24-hours, you get so bored not doing anything. Every day just goes past and I’m losing money, I could be out there earning money!”
'So happy'
Mumtaz management said they handed out more than 500 meals to hungry people today. Two of these hungry mouths belonged to a pair of students who said they struggle to cook good home meals, so this made them “so happy”.
Shahzaad and Adnan Mohammed, both 36, take the same course at the University of Leeds. They’ve said the free email was a massive benefit as they can only cook the basics “that you can survive on”.
Shahzaad said: “They are doing a really good job. Times have been a bit hard. I come from a different culture in India and I didn’t used to prepare my own meals back home.
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“It’s only when I came here to Leeds that I had to do everything on my own. It’s a life skill which I had to learn. We started making basic easy food, like eggs, omelette, cheeseburgers, sandwiches.”
“Pasta!” interjects Adnan. “We make basic stuff. So this [free meal] makes me happy.”
“Yes,” smiles Shahzaad, “Thing that you can survive on. This has made me so happy, plus it’s Indian food. We’ve been missing our home food here for a long time, so getting to eat an Indian cuisine which tastes good is really satisfying.”
'Every little helps'
Mumtaz management spoke about the scheme. The restaurant’s general manager Jawad Shah said: “Handing out free meals feels really good. We come here to work but we’re doing our bit for humanity at the moment.
"There are so many people struggling with their bills and outgoings. It’s just playing our little part to help the community. Every little bit helps.”
Customer & Business Relations Manager Asad Asif said: “I feel really mixed emotions. We’re happy that we’re in a position where we can help, we’re grateful for what we have but then you’ve got to understand that there are people in this first world country that need this sort of assistance. Leeds is supposed to be one for the leading cities and to think this is literally on our doorstep, it does hurt.
“Again, it gives us the opportunity for us to be grateful that we’ve got something and it allows us to be happy to help others.”
What other good deeds have you seen occurring on Christmas Day? Leave your thoughts in the comments section below.
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