FORCES veterans, who have been helping a parish church in the East End of London to run its foodbank, now have a lunch club there specially for them.

The weekly event, labelled “Scran and scoff” (forces slang for a meal), is held at St Dunstan’s, Stepney. Twenty men came to the first Wednesday-lunchtime session last week. They are now encouraging their friends to join them.

The hostel New Belvedere House, opened by the charity Veterans Aid in 1973, is situated in the parish, which has a long history of social engagement. The hostel, housing ex-personnel from all branches of the forces, is where most of those who attend live.

“Some time ago, a number of the veterans came to help out at our foodbank as volunteers, and it has moved on from there,” the Rector of Stepney, the Revd Trevor Critchlow, said. “We are signed up to the Armed Forces Covenant here, which is ‘a promise from the nation that those who serve or have served in the armed forces, and their families, are treated fairly’, and we take that seriously.”

The lunch-club project is being funded by the church, and the veterans were consulted beforehand on menu choices. The list featured familiar church buffet items — soup, bread, cheese, ham, pork pies, and scotch eggs — and was “heartily enjoyed by all who came”.

A number also attend church each week and are regular guests at the parish’s Sunday Lunch Club — “a homecooked roast lunch for those who may not want to cook for themselves” — which Fr Critchlow describes as part of “St Dunstan’s community engagement”. The foodbank serves more than 500 people each week, and there is also a weekly drop-in coffee morning open to everyone.

“We see this as part of our ministry of hospitality and welcome,” Fr Critchlow said. “Taking care of people’s basic needs is a gospel imperative, and this is a genuine two-way process. The veterans volunteer and help others in the parish via the foodbank, and with this initiative we are able to offer something specific for them, too.”