A memorial fund in memory of a "community hero" with a "huge heart" has raised more than £800 has tributes continue to flood in.

Tony Gibbons, founder of The Friendly Food Club, died on February 22 aged 82.

He set up the club in 2005 to address the lack of education and confidence among struggling families about healthy and nutritious food, something he won the 2020 National Lottery Award for.

Janet Miller, who has known Tony for 10 years, said: "I came to him with one skill set and he mentored me as I discovered strengths and skills I didn't know I had - that is what Tony did, every day for everyone he met, whoever they were and wherever they came from - everyone really was equal to him.

"He was a wizard at being able to fire enthusiasm in, and support from, everyone, and to somehow do more than was asked of him at every turn. The National Lottery Community Champion Award was given to him for all his work and for caring; he had a wonderful generous capacity for sharing.

"He lived very simply himself, everything he had or did was for other people. He was a human-dynamo who was driven by his passion to reach people and to improve lives by working with them, not talking 'at' them. He said it how it was but never judged people or made assumptions about who they were or what they could do.

"The Friendly Food Club was his 'baby' and his absolute passion. This line from a poem written for his service and says it nicely: 'Friendly Food Club, Tony Gibbons, they are one and the same, the name is the man, and the man is the name'."

The Friendly Food Club has made great strides in 'steadying' the group and communities and funders have been supporting it as the team finds a way forward without Tony.

The club is extremely close to becoming a registered charity, which was Tony's last focus and will help secure his legacy.

A spokesman for Friendly Food Club said: "The Friendly Food Club team has all vowed to carry on so that Tony's memory will continue.

"Tony set up the Friendly Food Club in 2005. Tony's passion and drive to help those less fortunate and bring people together through food and cooking was endless and selfless. He will be missed by many people in voluntary organisations and community circles across Dorset.

"Tony won a National Lottery Award for Education in 2020 for his pioneering work during the Coronavirus pandemic.

"Tony was a hero and supporter to all of his team, with a special gift of identifying strengths to which we could all play to. Tony has supported some of the team through difficult personal circumstances with a fatherly and caring approach, to which we are indebted. Along with his humour, eccentricity and bulldozer-like commitment, we will all greatly miss him.

"The team is working closely with our board of trustees to identify how we can more forward and secure the immediate and longer-term future for The Friendly Food Club. We are endeavouring to successfully deliver our existing projects and will keep interested parties informed about future actions."

Dorset Community Action also paid tribute to "the wonderful Tony Gibbons". 

A spokesman said: "It was his mission to bring the joy of cooking to as many people as possible and he did it brilliantly. Our condolences to family, friends and colleagues.

"We spoke to Tony about his work a few months ago. He summed up his delight in helping foster a love for cooking: 'when you teach someone who has never made an omelette before, you can see the reaction when it tastes nice and, wow, there's this joy and sense of achievement'."

The memorial fund can be found here.