ONE hundred elderly Forest people are about to lose their one square meal a day and valuable contact with the outside world ... all because we can't raise £25,000.

That's all it would cost to keep Age Concern's meals-on-wheels service going in a district which has swallowed up grants of over £7 million in recent years – but, apparently, can't feed it's own old folk.

It may be emotive, it may be inflammatory but if the Age Concern kitchen at Cinderford's Enterprise Centre closes next month then our MP, county councillors and district councillors should hang their heads in shame.

And that's not just our view ... it is the view of Age Concern's Pauline Matthews who is fighting an uphill battle to keep the service going.

Every day – Mondays to Fridays – Age Concern staff turn out 100 three course meals from Cinderford's Enterprise Centre to be delivered by volunteers to largely housebound pensioners who find caring for themselves at home difficult enough. They pay £2.50 a meal – a weekly bill of £12.50.

"We don't believe we can charge more than that. It's the top limit many pensioners can afford but I want to emphasise that we are now in a real crisis situation. If we can't raise the money by our meeting on August 7 it will be the end of the road. That is our D-Day," said Pauline. "We are desperate. We have been going for nine years now and it has come to this. "We can get funding for capital projects like buying equipment but there is no money to subsidise the service itself.

"I'm very much afraid it is going to go and that will be a tragedy for those elderly folk who rely on a daily visit from a friendly face and a lovely three course meal."

She added: "It always seems odd to me that we appear to have a mountain of public money for all sorts of things but we can't get one good meal a day out to people who really did help.

"The more you think about it the more you realise it is a crazy situation. There are many people who say we are not getting our priorities right . Surely giving our older residents one good meal a day should be right at the top of our agenda?"

Age Concern's new Forest of Dean shop – a valuable fund-raiser – will be officially opened by MP Diana Organ in a new location at 23, Market Street on Friday.

And the charity is planning a rally through Cinderford on July 21 to try and raise public awareness of the work of Age Concern and the cash crisis they are facing.

•Can you help? ... telephone Pauline Matthews on Dean 827927.