Storm Austen in Penryn: Hot Food for National Grid, and a Mention in the Commons

After Storm Austen cut power across parts of Cornwall, National Grid called Salt Wind Catering in through NCASS to serve hot food to residents in Penryn on 23 and 24 October 2026. On 29 October, Jayne Kirkham MP named that work in the House of Commons.

To everyone in Penryn who lost power in Storm Austen, we hope you're warm and back to normal.

What happened in Penryn

On Friday 23 October, National Grid called us in through NCASS, the Nationwide Caterers Association, which runs the emergency catering service utilities use during power cuts. We set up at Penryn Rugby Club on the Friday afternoon and at Penryn Cricket Club on the Saturday, serving hot food and drinks to residents without power. Our kitchen carries its own gas, water and generators, so it can work wherever the welfare point needs to be.

Cornwall Council's Storm Austen updates listed the Friday food at the rugby club under HM Catering Cornwall Ltd, the company behind Salt Wind Catering.

Named in the House of Commons

On 29 October, at Business of the House, Jayne Kirkham MP for Truro and Falmouth thanked the people and organisations who helped: parish councils for their emergency plans, National Grid and its team, Cormac for clearing the fallen trees, local farmers and BBC Radio Cornwall. She named Salt Wind Catering for working with National Grid “to provide some of the warm food that people needed”. Read it in Hansard.

It isn't often a caterer is named on the record in the House of Commons. We're proud of our team for the work behind it, and humbled to be in that list. It sits with our other coverage on our press page.

Our second time in Penryn this year

In January, during Storm Goretti, we were deployed to Penryn for National Grid and were on site within three hours of the call, with our welfare truck in the council car park on Commercial Road. What we learned there, and how we think towns could plan for the next one, is in our Storm Goretti write-up.

Thank you

Thank you to Penryn Town Council for welcoming us, to Penryn Rugby Club and Penryn Cricket Club for giving us somewhere to set up, and to NCASS for organising the callout.

We'd welcome a conversation with the council, National Grid and anyone else involved about how community resilience can work better from the point of view of the caterers called in, and about what we can improve for next time.

If you lose power

Call 105 to report a power cut and get updates from National Grid. If you or someone you know is vulnerable, make sure you're on the Priority Services Register.

For councils, utilities and contractors planning welfare cover, see our welfare and emergency catering page.