GWP Packaging has continued its support for Swindon Food Collective as the charity warns that the number of people using their services has remained at heightened levels. GWP has donated around 500 boxes used to organise and distribute food to support Swindon Food Collective.
The charity, based in Westlea, Swindon, provided food for around 10,500 people last year, many of them children or teenagers. The charity distributed almost 100 tonnes of food, the equivalent of around 80,000 meals.
Cher Smith MBE, Manager at Swindon Food Collective, commented, “We saw a surge in people coming to us during COVID, but this has shown no signs of slowing down. Before COVID, those needing our help were generally facing difficulties due to a breakup, redundancy or poor health. Now, with the cost-of-living crisis and inflation, many people simply don’t have enough money to get them through the month.”
Higher food prices have also affected donations, leading to changes in how the charity operates. It now frequently spends thousands of pounds to ensure it has enough food in stock to meet demand while also purchasing items such as toiletries, sanitary products, and other essentials.
Besides donating the packaging used by Swindon Food Collective, GWP has helped the charity in several other ways over the past decade. Support included providing maintenance technicians to rewire the electrics at their storage depot and storing pallets of donations at GWP’s warehouse. A team of GWP employees also undertook the National Three Peaks Challenge to raise much-needed funds for the charity.
