Feeding the poor at Christmas in Victorian New Cross

Charitable appeals from Victorian New Cross:

'Poor Children's Dinners 

Sir, —The time is drawing very near when it is  customary to give the poor little destitute children a Christmas dinner of roast beef and plum-pudding, also weekly dinners during the succeeding three or four months. May I be permitted to invite the attention of your readers to the fact that this season, though a festive one to many, is very trying to the poor and wretched inmates of the courts and alleys. The distress has been truly severe throughout the year, but has seriously increased up to this time, there being no employment to be obtained. We wish to give a Christmas dinner, if possible, to about fifty poor and aged women. Contributions of money, clothing, provisions, &c., will be gratefully received by, yours respectfully, D. Anderson, Hon. Sec. The Good Shepherd Ragged and Industrial Schools, Pomeroy Street, New Cross-road, S.E' (Globe,  20 December 1869)

'Christmas Breakfast and Dinners to 30,000 poor London children 

The Robin Society, of 390, New Cross road, London, S.E., writes us: "Last Christmastide we arranged breakfasts and dinners in some forty different centres in various parts of London and suburbs for nearly 25,000 poor children. The committee of the Robin Society hope this year to invite 30,000 of all sects and creeds. We are receiving parcels of cuffs and cards from all parts of the country, but are still a long, long way short of the 30,000 pairs we shall require for our little guests. We want funds so as to be in a position to carry through our gigantic undertaking. May we venture to hope that your readers will help us? All amounts will be gratefully acknowledged by our hon. treasurer if addressed to the Robin Society, 390, New Cross road, London' (Illustrated Sporting and Dramatic News - Saturday 22 December 1894)

'More than 3,000 poor children were entertained yesterday at breakfast in connection with the Robin Society, in John Addey’s schools, Church-street, Deptford. It required the assistance of 200 ladies and gentlemen to supply the needs of all the hungry children (St James's Gazette, 26 December 1888)

Thank God people no longer have to rely on food banks to eat.