Sainsbury's Bath Local

FareShare South West (FSSW) tackles food poverty in the South West, using food that would otherwise go to waste and redistributing it to front-line organisations that need it. We work to fight hunger in our region by tackling food waste. Established in 2007, our team of volunteers saves hundreds of tonnes of good quality, in-date surplus food each year and redistribute it to organisations supporting the most vulnerable across our region. Our partner organisations are charities, community groups and schools embedded in the local community – using local expertise and lived experience. They transform the food we provide into healthy meals whilst providing wrap-around support. The end beneficiaries we support via our front-line partners struggle with food insecurity due to financial, social or physical barriers to accessing nutritious food. In 2020 in response to the demand for our services caused by the Covid pandemic, we scaled up our operations and increased our output six-fold – delivering food for over 6.1 million meals. Half of the food we supplied was to families and children in need through schools, children’s centres, holiday projects and pantry schemes.

Mercy in Action in the UK works alongside young homeless women and their babies by providing accommodation and ongoing support through a network of Petra Houses. In B&NES we have also run Action Pantry, a food club for families struggling with food poverty. All families are referred by professionals and attend weekly to collect their food, choose free clothing for their children and chat with support workers who can help with signposting to other organisations.

It is widely known that some of the biggest threats of aging are hunger, isolation and loss of independence. Here at CURO we have a range of community-based programs in BANES that are dedicated to addressing these issues. By providing leadership, education and advocacy support, we empower local residents to strengthen their communities. On Tuesday 1 August, Curo will be launching a special project to bring food and support to rural communities. The Pantry is a food bank and so much more, bringing much-needed help to hard-to-reach customers as the Cost of Living crisis continues. We’d love people from the local community to join us for the launch of The Pantry at Curo’s Community Room in Welton Vale, Midsomer Norton, Radstock, Somerset, BA3 2BG, 10am-2pm. Open every Tuesday ongoing Colleagues from our friendly and knowledgeable Customer Accounts team will also be on location to offer money and benefits advice, and to help people struggling with rising costs to access on-the-spot help.