Peter O’Grady with the van normally seen in Inverness Street

THEY can usually be found on the corner of Inverness Street and Arlington Road in Camden Town at lunch times, dishing up free food for anyone in need.

But the Food For All van – which for decades has been helping the hungry in Camden – is now truly international. Over Christmas and the new year, volunteers drove the food van to Kershon, deep in Ukraine, to serve food under fire.

Their trusty mobile kitchen, which is equipped to serve 8,000 vegetarian meals a day, bears bullet and shrapnel holes as marks of the risks they took to help others.

Last week, as the size of the earthquake in northern Syria and Turkey became apparent, organiser Peter O’Grady loaded up the van again and set off on a trip of over 3,400 miles to help.

The van has driven across Europe and entered Turkey, where it has headed for the Syrian town of Idlib, under rebel control as the country’s civil war continues.

Mr O’Grady said: “Our van and mobile kitchen has headed for Syria as the rebel leader in Idlib has reached out to us for help. It is a heartbreaking situation. People have suffered from guns and bombs for decades and now an earthquake.

“As soon as it happened, we began to work out how we could get there to help. We knew northern Syria has suffered so much from the civil war, we wanted to see how we could provide aid.

“We were contacted by the city’s leader – he is basically a warlord and is on the USA’s most wanted list – and they promised us safe passage, and a place to stay. Someone connected to him had heard of us and got in touch. They said they’d take care of us – and make sure we don’t get shot.”

He said the decision to head further south was due to the group’s plan to go to where help is needed most.

He added: “Most of the humanitarian help goes to Turkey so we decided to the extra mile.”

Once the Syrian appeal was made, 20 volunteers from Food For All stepped forward. They set out last week, with more volunteers leaving today (Thursday).

Mr O’Grady said: “The journey was tough. It is a long drive – further than our trips into Ukraine – and so many of the roads are blocked and broken. Our vans have been having to head through fields and down tracks to get there.”

The city of Idlib has, thankfully, escaped widescale damage – but the surrounding towns and villages have been reduced to rubble, adding to an already precarious refugee issue, as so many people have already been forced from their homes by the conflict.

Mr O’Grady said: “They are already caring for 500,000 refugees and now it is full of people who have been affected by the earthquake.”

Fundraising has been helped by individual donations – singers Chrissie Hynde and Boy George have contributed, while Parkway-based charity shop Rock and Roll Rescue have also made a “significant” donation. As well as taking van loads of aid, including blankets, Food For All say if you have the money, food can be bought in Syria.

He added: “Thankfully we have been able to get stuff out there, and airlines have been taking our donations over for free, so we have been able to take a lot of supplies from the UK.”

The charity, which plans to be in Syria for at least two months, has spent £200,000 on blankets and other equipment, and a further £55,000 on food in the past week. Mr O’Grady added that his team were working in trying conditions – but felt safe.

He said: “We are confident and well placed to help. Idlib is not as dangerous as cities in Ukraine we have been to.” l

To contribute to Food For All, visit www.food­foralluk.com