Organisations team up to tackle food poverty in South Yorkshire

The Trussell Trust, which has more than 400 food banks nationwide, is joining forces with the Community Shop, which sells low-cost food to people struggling on the breadline, to offer a joint enterprise.

The Trust operates a food bank in Doncaster and the Community Shop has an outlet in Goldthorpe. The organisations are now looking for two premises about 20, 000 sq ft in size from where they can deliver collaborative projects. The model for the two new sites will be based on an existing scheme in London where both organisations work together to “signpost each other’s offerings” to people who need their help.

David McAuley, chief executive of the Trussell Trust, said: “We are excited to enter into this agreement with Community Shop and I’m looking forward to exploring how the two organisations can work together. Most importantly we have a shared vision and passion for ending UK hunger and poverty through supporting communities take practical action.

“Our approaches to tackling poverty can complement each other, so fewer people end up needing an emergency food parcel to see them through the week.”

John Marren, founder and chairman of Community Shop, added: “When we launched Community Shop in Goldthorpe, our mission was to get surplus food to the people that needed it most, whilst building stronger individuals and stronger communities. We believe that through this partnership we will be able to reach even more people and help them back on their route to independence, while tackling food waste.”