Workers at south Cumbrian food projects were among those being praised by Helen Skelton last night.

The TV celebrity from the county met with volunteers at the ‘Celebration of Kindness’ event in Penrith.

Around one hundred and fifty volunteers from 40 projects attended, including schemes in Grange, Kendal, Ulverston, Barrow, Flookburgh, Cartmel, Staveley and Witherslack.

Skelton said: "Tonight has been a wonderful celebration and a brilliant acknowledgement of what is essentially lots of small acts of kindness that have such a huge impact on our communities.

"I am in awe of [everyone] here tonight - food poverty is such a huge issue which isn’t going away anytime soon, but the commitment and enthusiasm for helping our communities is inspiring.”

The Mail: Presenter and guest host Helen SkeltonPresenter and guest host Helen Skelton (Image: Intro PR)

Guests enjoyed a meal, and each project was presented with a plaque recognising their work fighting food poverty in their communities.

The event, which took place at the North Lakes Hotel in Penrith, was laid on by The Cumberland as part of its Kinder Kind of Kitchens initiative.

“It is one of those evenings where hopefully everyone will leave feeling very buoyed and energised, but definitely very humbled and inspired," Skelton added.

Rahina Borthwick of the Grange Foodshare project described how their new plaque would be taking 'pride of place' in their Christmas window.

She said: "The staff and volunteers I brought with me were delighted.

"It was a big treat for them and a nice night out, especially lovely to see all the other groups who work on food poverty."

The Mail: Tom Carysforth (General manager at Recycling Lives) collecting a trophy on behalf of Staveley with Ings TogetherTom Carysforth (General manager at Recycling Lives) collecting a trophy on behalf of Staveley with Ings Together (Image: Intro PR)

Research by The Cumberland found a 30 per cent increase in people using food banks in Cumbria’s main towns.

The Carlisle-based building society donated £250,000 this year to FareShare Lancashire and Cumbria, providing funding for a network of food banks and food projects.

The groups from South Cumbria who were given a plaque were: The Grub Hub in Barrow, Waste Not Want Not (Cartmel), Dazzle for Children (Barrow), the Bendrigg Trust, Waste into Wellbeing (Kendal), Zero Waste Sedbergh, Friends of Dean Barwick Primary School, Staveley with Ings Together, Flookburgh Community Food Club, Allithwaite Food Club and the Ulverston Food Project.