Mama Flo the Local Hero of Stockport (Images- Pride of Britain official website)
Meet 71-year-old Florence Coke, popularly known as Mama Flo, who runs a Caribbean takeaway in Stockport, Greater Manchester, in England. For more than 30 years, Florence has been living in the UK, and for the past several years, she has been running Mama Flo’s restaurant, where she has made it her mission to provide free meals to children, pensioners and people who cannot afford to pay for food. During the COVID-19 pandemic, when the whole world was in crisis, with people losing their jobs, she continued to feed those who were struggling.
Because schools are closed for the holidays, she believes that no child should have to go hungry simply.
Mahatma Gandhi very famously said, “Simplicity is the essence of Universality”. Sometimes it is the simplest gestures that make the biggest difference in somebody’s life. We come across stories of people doing extraordinary things for their community, and we too are in awe of how someone can dedicate their entire lifetime to serving others without asking for anything. What if they have understood the secret of life that most of us are still not aware of? Florence has become equally popular for something else, i.e., making sure that no one in her community goes hungry While her restaurant is known for its delicious Caribbean cuisine. Her efforts have earned her thousands of admirers in the community, and she recently received the Pride of Britain This Morning Local Hero award in recognition of her incredible work towards making a more welcoming community. For Florence, feeding people is not something she started doing recently. It is something she grew up watching her parents do in Jamaica. As a child, she would watch her mother prepare large pots of food every day and distribute it among the poor and the needy in her community. She saw what it meant for them and for the community and wanted to bring the same tradition to Stockport in her own way. Over the years, she has given away thousands of meals. As the cost of living crisis made things more difficult for families, she began providing free meals to children during the summer holidays and also sent food parcels to elderly residents who needed help. In a world where people think a hundred times before donating a cent, she is making a change in the world. Her support extends beyond the meals served at the restaurant. She works with people who deliver food to elderly residents who cannot walk up to her restaurant, while she herself spends hours preparing meals for everyone. She also tries to help people who have recently come out of prison, treating them with the same warmth and care she would offer a family member.
