The National Federation of Fish Friers (NFFF) are proud partners of the RNLI’s Fish Supper fundraising campaign. The RNLI Fish Supper is an annual charity event held to raise funds to support the RNLI’s life-saving work. Participants sign up to hold their own Fish Supper for friends and family and collect donations for the RNLI.

Matthew Black, owner of Blacks Fish and Chips in Halton, has been a member of the NFFF for a number of years. Matthew and the team at Blacks Fish and Chips have chosen to support the RNLI Fish Supper this year;

"Our shop in Halton is only a few of miles away from the local lifeboat station in Morecambe. Morecambe Bay is lucky enough to benefit from a permanent hover craft, operated by the RNLI. In addition to the usual bread and butter work of saving lives at sea, the local RNLI are kept busy rescuing people from the mud flats and quicksand in the bay, and the silty boggy banks of the Lune estuary. Tidal flow into the bay is rapid, and people regularly become stranded on sandbanks. To conduct this work the hovercraft is essential, and has shown itself to be a literal life saver time and again.

Transporting the hovercraft requires the use of a Lorry, and it has to be housed in a specialist launch when not in use. Maintenance and operational costs are considerable. Morecambe is one of only 4 lifeboat stations that operates both hovercraft and traditional boats side by side. The RNLI relies heavily on public donations, and if Morecambe Bay is to continue to benefit from this most fantastic resource then fundraising is key. And that is where we come in! When we found out about the opportunity to fundraise through the Fish Supper initiative last year we jumped at the chance! We reached out to the RNLI and a former launch officer and local RNLI chairman Raymond Hirst came and joined us at the shop. He handed out pens and badges to customers who made change donations, and discussed the operations and his experiences in the local RNLI. Between fish and chip sales and change donations we managed to secure £200 to support the lifeboats.

This year we are hoping to do even more. The RNLI came out to the shop to take photos to be incorporated into press releases, and Raymond will be joining us again for 2 nights. The RNLI have also agreed to publicise our Fish Supper event on their social media streams. The goal is to raise as much money as we possibly can to support the local station and its fantastic lifesaving work in Morecambe Bay!”

Not everyone is able to host their own Fish Supper event at home and others may want to save on the washing up and dine out! This is where your frying skills come in. The event is a fun way to encourage customers into your shop bringing friends and family together to enjoy a great meal provided by you, inspired by the sea - and while raising money for a great cause.

We’ll make sure you have everything you need and we’ll send you a fundraising pack when you sign up that that has bunting, posters and collection boxes, bringing Fish Supper to your shop.

Sign up today to get involved and make a real difference.