VE Day cream teas for 600 older people in Street

The Salvation Army is mobilising in the Somerset town of Street ahead of VE Day to make sure that 600 older people will be celebrating with a lockdown cream tea on 8 May.

They will each get a freshly-made bank holiday treat delivered to their door as they self-isolate during the #coronavirus pandemic.

“We were starting to get concerned about the mental health of older people in our community during the lockdown and I came up with the idea of making up cream teas for them on VE Day” said local Salvation Army leader Louise Melia.

“I asked some people we are working with as part of our Street Community Support group what they thought and we all agreed it would give the older people in Street a boost. It all seemed like a good idea until early one morning I realised how much fresh cream I had to order”, laughed Louise. 

“But as our experience of working with Street Community Group to make and deliver fresh pizzas to schoolchildren and their families in the area in April has shown, we can do this if we all pull together. “We are making up 600 boxes now which will contain two scones each; cream; jam; Union Jack napkin; a tea bag – because there’s nothing like a Salvation Army cup of tea; and a postcard we have designed” said Louise, before adding with a smile “We just need to bake 1,200 scones now”

The Salvation Army will be encouraging the older people to sit in their front gardens to enjoy their cream tea at 3.30pm and is encouraging everyone else in Street to have a cup of tea outside their homes at this time while maintain social distancing. 

Louise and John are asking people to sponsor the VE Day cream tea by making a donation at their Just Giving page.