Cost of living crisis: Pontefract tattoo studio to offer free inkings for food bank donations in the run up to Christmas

Owner of the shop James WIlliams and his team of tattoo artists will be offering residents free inkings in November and December to raise plenty of food for Pontefract Community Kitchen as the cost of living crisis worsens and people struggle to put food on their table.

James said: “We will be running three days across November and December where we will be giving out free tattoos in exchange for food that will be donated to food banks across Pontefract, mainly Pontefract Community Kitchen.

“We have books of tattoo designs ready to go. We just ask that people bring a bag of food that is suitable to be given to a food bank in.

"Last year, we ran a couple of ‘Tats for Toys’ days, which was fantastic. We must have raised 300 or 400 toys that were given to children living in women's refuges.”

In previous years, the offer has been so popular that James had to hire door staff just in case anything goes wrong.

“As bad as it sounds, the offer goes absolutely mental and we have to get security staff to watch the door just in case,” the shop owner said.

There will be ten booklets of tattoos to choose from and five artists working on them on the different days.

Customers will be able to choose from simple line tattoos, black and white pieces, and colour designs.

James added: “We’ve got that many on offer because we want people to come and get a tattoo and donate to the cause.

"The way I look at, it is always good to give back to the community. Without the community, I wouldn’t have a business.

"I enjoy giving to charity, I’ve done it for the last ten years. I’d rather do it for people that are in need. Last year, it was for children in women’s refuges, and the time before that it was for horses.

"We know that people are having to decide whether to heat their homes or eat, which is not good. If we can help by doing a couple of simple tattoos, then it makes me happy to do so.”

James has been a tattoo artist for over ten years and opened his shop in 2020 in between the Covid-19 lockdowns.

Since then, he has welcomed nearly a dozen apprentices into his shop teaching them how to tattoo safely.

The food donated must be suitable for food banks, so nothing fresh or frozen and it must also be long lasting and in date.

Anything that normally goes in the kitchen cupboard or other items such as toiletries, nappies and baby wipes will be welcomed.

The offer will be running on Sunday, November 27 from 10am, Tuesday, December 6 from 10am and Tuesday, December 20 from 10am and will be walking-ins only.

For more information, visit Ink Kingz Tattoo Studio on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/InkkingzTattooStudio.