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about us
Hi, my name is Lianne and I am the original founder of Diamond Hampers CIC. I am the director of the organisation and manage both the stores we run in Huntingdon.
Together with me I have a wonderful team of volunteers for Diamond Hampers that along with the many others, really are the key to our successes.
Diamond Hampers was initially set up to address a huge dignity gap across the community and to develop something that hadn’t been done before.
We wanted to be the hands up that people needed in crisis, not the hand out.
Our aim was to provide empowerment, not enablement.
We put together a hamper of balanced food, which was a new initiative and unlike the standard food parcel you may expect to receive from a food aid provider.
Along with tinned and dried goods, we provided and still do – a variety of fresh fruits and vegetables, frozen and refrigerated items.
We deliver these emergency food hampers seven days a week across the entire District and beyond.
When working to offer support with each person that is referred to us, we work with and for them to make referrals to external agencies in order to build and develop longer term solutions that will see them no longer requiring emergency intervention.
We developed two stores which have been running for 3 years, providing access to affordable food, clothing and other essential homeware and hygiene products.
It allows people the opportunity to shop both independently and affordably. Bridging dignity gaps all across the wider community and allowing the freedom of choice.
In our Pantry store, we offer a fill a basket deal for just £4 and this can be filled up of fruits, vegetables and many other items including cereals, pasta and cakes.
In our Attic store, we offer clothing at affordable prices, with the majority being just £1 and offer to loan out suits/interview wear to help people access paid employment.
Alongside this, we offer school uniform at just £1 a piece or for free to families faced with extreme crisis.
We support families with their children attending the Guiding Association groups by providing books, uniform and financial support to attend session that will allow their children a chance to get more involved with the community, improve their social skills and their mental health and well-being.
In addition to all of this, we redirect large volumes of food waste, 7 days a week, all month and year long.
We redirect anywhere from between 10 tonnes to 25 tonnes of food every month.
This is food that would ordinarily be sent to landfill.
Instead we collect it from many local supermarkets and businesses and make it available through our Pantry store and food hampers.
We have a system set up with the County Council and we support all their young people leaving care for the first time. We provide them with what is called a “moving on box”. These are filled with essential household appliances and dinnerware etc. It enables them the chance to get set up in their new homes and feel better supported and settled.
It has proven to reduce how many young people are committing crimes in order to gain the belongings they need.
Our efforts are for many more too and we supply similar packages to families being rehoused due to an emergency scenario. For instance a domestic abuse case.
Our support extends over international borders too and we became the main support hub for sending supplies to Ukraine during the dreadful war. We filled two entire lorry containers with food, medical supplies, clothing and much more.
We then continued that work here in the UK, supporting refuges with starting their new lives here and giving them the best possible chance at a much better life.
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Some other services we offer are:
- PAT testing service, 3 members of our team are qualified PAT testers and this means we can safety check all electrical appliances that can go out to our vulnerable families and in our store to raise vital funds. We also offer this service to churches and local businesses at a very affordable rate.
- Our fishing team was set up to bring people together to improve the mental health and well-being of many and often is used to set up competitions to raise funds for DH.
- Our brand new community allotment that is currently under development!
Let me just share some of the figures that we have achieved in just 4.5 years.
- 500,000 meals to vulnerable people
- 1.2 million kg of co2 saved from entering our atmosphere
- Over £120,000 raised through fundraising events etc
- £700,000 worth of food stopped from rotting in landfill
- A further 1.1 million meals generated from redirected waste alone and provided through our Pantry.
- Over 1,600 families moved away form crisis and now sustainable
This is just a keyhole view of the work we do within Diamond Hampers and we are always looking at new ways to support our communities.
We are in fact for the people and the planet.
For the community, not for profit
We are in our fifth year in operation.
My heart truly swells with pride of what it has become and the team that I have behind me.
We have smashed records and started things that have never existed in this county before.
Creating an idea that has never been done before and executed in this way.
Running two shops that promote affordable living and bridging dignity gaps through providing an independent way to accessing food and other essential supplies.
We Started a wave of redirecting waste.
From the 10 times we collected a week in the beginning to the 125 times a week we do now!
Now other organisations are doing this. I am beyond proud that we were the starting point for that.
Our hamper idea was the first of its kind locally as no food bank had ever provided a fresh range of fruits, veggies and other nutritious food before.
Each day I make referrals with and for our clients. Last year alone, through this work. We successfully moved over 700 families away from needing anymore emergency support and helped develop longer term solutions that then meant they were self- sustainable.
During the last 4 years of running Diamond Hampers. I have achieved some amazing personal and collective awards for the business.
These include:
Gold Winner – Lockdown Leader 2021 (Regional Business Awards)
Silver Winner – Community Business of the Year 2021 (Regional Business Awards)
Bronze Winner – Lockdown Leader 2022 (National Business Awards)
Bronze Winner – Business Hero 2022 (National Business Awards)
Coronation Champion Award 2023
Gold Winner Sustainable Business of the year 2023 (National Business awards)
I have received a letter from Her Majesty The late Queen and His Majesty The King, commending our work across the community and an additional letter from his representative The Lord Lieutenant.
I had the amazing honour of being invited to Buckingham Palace for a garden party to celebrate all the 500 Coronation Champions in the UK. I was given the Coronation Champion Award. The year previous I was invited by Princess Catherine to attend a celebration at Westminster Abbey.
We were awarded the Best Food Hamper Provider in the UK by LuxLife in 2023, received the High Sherriff Award and reached the FINALS of the Suffolk and Cambridgeshire’s Muddy Stilettos Awards 2023 in the Best Sustainable Lifestyle Business category.
More recently I was proudly awarded The Points of Light award from The Prime Minister!
Proud member of IFAN
https://www.foodaidnetwork.org.uk/The Independent Food Aid Network’s strategy:
This strategy sets out how the Independent Food Aid Network (IFAN) seeks to realise this vision and achieve its aims whilst upholding the core principles first outlined when the organisation was founded in 2016.
IFAN’s vision is of a UK where everyone can eat good food and emergency food aid is no longer necessary.
“Hunger doesn't take a day off, so neither do we”
Diamond Hampers PAT Testing Team
We have our very own PAT Testing team!
Lee Simpson and Lianne Simpson (founder and exc Director of DH), are both qualified PAT testers.
Together they will be leading our initiative that provides a much needed service.
With this team, they will be able to carry out electrical testing on essential household items for those in need.
Such as young people leaving care.
They will be able to do this using calibrated safety testing equipment.
They can also test items that can then safely be sold in our Attic store. Helping us to raise vital funds!
Diamond Hampers are working to create a better future for the most vulnerable in society.
contact Us
- diamondhampers@yahoo.com
- 07769312711 Lianne
