A charity that redistributes surplus food to low-income families has revealed it faces a ‘race against time’ to secure funding.
The Whitley Community Development Association (WCDA) is an independent organisation located in Whitley, south Reading.
Based at the South Reading Community Hub on Northumberland Avenue, the WCDA has been running the Surplus Food Project since 2019.
Staff collect free food from a host of partners – including M&S, Morrisons, Aldi, Co-op, Brakes and Greggs – and make it available to those who need it, five days a week.
The WCDA is backed by local firm Select Car Leasing, and Select has just extended the donation of a Citroen Berlingo van to the team for another year so that surplus food can be collected and diverted to where it matters most.
But Maria Cox, Community Development Worker with the WCDA, says the £1m worth of funding it secured from the National Lottery’s ‘Big Lottery Fund’ (BIG) in 2013 is running out.
And the WCDA needs additional funds if it’s going to continue supporting up to 1,600 people – adults and children – each month.
Maria explains: “Our funding is running out. We’re down to our last year of the National Lottery grant and we’re now applying for additional funds. To get through another 12 months we need at least £200,000 of core funding by the autumn of this year. It’s a race against time to make sure that we can continue.
“And our situation illustrates why we’re so grateful to Select Car Leasing for the donation of a van for another year. It’s absolutely crucial for us because the van is used solely to pick-up and drop-off the surplus food. Without it, and without Select’s support, thousands of people might find themselves with empty stomachs each month.”
While the WCDA recently received a cash injection from Reading Borough Council Maria says much more still needs to be done to secure the charity’s future.
The Surplus Food Project stats speak for themselves.
Between January and April this year, more than 5,500 individuals accessed free food, many coming from outside the RG2 area. Some come from as far afield as Newbury and Oxford.
There are environmental benefits to the Project, too.
A typical month will see Maria and her team picking up around 1.5 tonnes of food from Aldi and M&S outlets alone, which Maria says represents a CO2 saving of around 2,850kg because the produce doesn’t end up in a landfill.
Maria says: “Demand for our surplus food went through the roof during Covid-19 and it hasn’t died down since. We’re reaching more members of the community than ever before and more charitable organisations are signposting their users to us.
“For the people we support, they face a terrible choice; do they heat their home, or do they eat? And no-one should ever have to make that choice, particularly when we’re talking about families with young children.
“We support people of all ages – from newborns to those in their 90s. And some of the stories we come across are nothing short of heartbreaking. We had a young mum recently who came to us, and as she left she whispered to her young child in a pushchair, ‘It’s okay, we can now have breakfast’. It broke us. But incidents like this also drive us to do even more.
“We’re open 10am until 1pm, five days a week. And on some days we’ve run out of food by 11.30am. None of the food is wasted. If there is ever any leftover, it goes to a local pig farm to be utilised.
“Crucially, we don’t judge. We don’t means-test. We’re unique in what we do and we’re simply here to help.”
Besides the surplus food, the WCDA also requires additional funds to put on a range of activities, from knitting sessions and kids’ holiday activities, to drop-in afternoons where people can enjoy free soup.
The WCDA hosts partner organisations who provide benefits advice and support with welfare rights. Maria says those organisations are often ‘inundated’ with requests for help.
The WCDA also works closely with Neighbourly, a charity that connects businesses with other surplus product projects, as well as other charities, to make sure no food ever goes to waste.
But the WCDA is always looking for more businesses to join the surplus food scheme to increase the amount of product it can redistribute.
Mark Tongue, joint CEO and founder of Select Car Leasing, adds: “We’re delighted to continue our support of the WCDA and the Surplus Food Project which has been doing incredible work for a number of years now.
“We know the van is being put to good use and we applaud the incredible results that Maria and her team are achieving.
“The South Reading Community Hub is located just a stone’s throw from Select Car Leasing’s headquarters. And as a company that takes its social responsibility seriously, backing the Surplus Food Project is a no-brainer for us.
“If you or your business is in a position to help Maria and the incredible volunteers at the Surplus Food Project, we urge you to get in touch with the WCDA directly.”
*** Anyone interested in supporting the Whitley Community Development Association and the Surplus Food Project should email accounts@whitley-cda.org.
