ALDI CHIPPENHAM - MILL HOUSE

We are a large volunteer based Charity operating across the Wiltshire area. Our volunteers use donated food to share with local families, individuals and organisations who are most in need. We are currently under pressure to meet the increasing need to help people who cannot afford food, whilst also experiencing a big decrease in the amount of food we receive due to less available food and many more people buying food from the reduced price sections. If you are a business with surplus food, would like to make a donation, volunteer or are in need of some food, please contact us.

We are a small animal sanctuary providing forever homes for a variety of animals, from Guinea Pigs to Goats and everything in between. The sanctuary is our home so we are able to care for the animals 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Our aim to is provide care to all animals by either offering a safe, permanent home or giving support where appropriate, the majority of animals we offer a home to stay here as residents. We receive no funding or financial support so all costs are met by ourselves, this can be a challenge and the support we get from our local Aldi store via Neighbourly is priceless. The surplus food scheme provides a varied diet for our animals, whilst any excess (normally cakes!) are donated to the Breakfast Club run by my employer to benefit others. We welcome contributions from our local B&Q via the Neighbourly scheme and update them regularly on our animals and how their contributions have been used. We do not charge for any of the services we provide, our motivation is the welfare of the animals concerned and giving those in need of dealing with an animal related situation a safe, trustworthy and caring option. To help reduce costs we are always in need of fruit and veg to feed the animals which keeps their diet varied. We are unable to have volunteers at our sanctuary or offer open days, however we do try to offer advice to anyone seeking guidance on keeping their own animals or looking to rehome. We support other sanctuaries both locally and nationally through fundraising and helping out whenever possible, these include; Coppershell Animal Rescue Goatacre Animal Sanctuary Wonky Pets Rescue Great Dane Care

Our central hub and storage premises are located in Bromham. From here, we manage our inventory and coordinate all packing. Because transportation is a major barrier for families in crisis, we operate a wide mobile network. We run dedicated weekly pick up services across five key Wiltshire towns: Calne, Devizes, Trowbridge, Melksham, and Chippenham, handing supplies directly to those in need at various community locations. We support local individuals and families facing sudden financial hardship, housing instability, or crisis who cannot afford basic food, toiletries, or baby essentials. We lower barriers to support by not requiring official referral vouchers. In addition to families finding us directly via word of mouth and social media, we are now a trusted resource for local schools across the area who actively pass our information to parents in need, as well as the Wiltshire Homelessness Team. We are primarily looking to access food surplus and essential toiletries. Our initiative was launched by personally funding our initial stock out of pocket, so gaining a reliable stream of surplus items will allow us to sustainably expand our reach to those that need it. We would also highly value any future grant funding to help us buy high demand gap items. Every single box, food item, and toiletry pack we provide is distributed 100% free of charge. We are an entirely community backed, volunteer run safety net. We have received fantastic local and national media coverage. We have been featured in Calne News and Melksham News, and the BBC has also written about our initiative, highlighting our rapid growth and approach to crisis support. We have recently agreed to work alongside the Wiltshire Homelessness Team and our details are actively shared by members of the Wiltshire Council. Furthermore, we cooperate with local schools who direct vulnerable families straight to our service. Food donations are integrated straight into our emergency packing system. When a family requests help, we use a personalised checklist so they only receive items they will actually use. This eliminates product waste. Everything is distributed entirely for free via our Bromham hub. Our inventory has been built entirely through our own initial personal funding and subsequent physical donations from the public.