A Whitley-based charity, which is responsible for helping over 1,600 low-income households a week, is at a race against time for survival.

Based at the South Reading Community Hub on Northumberland Avenue, the Whitley Community Development Association 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.

After receiving £1m worth of funding it secured from the National Lottery’s ‘Big Lottery Fund’ (BIG) in 2013, the charity is quickly running out of funds to help families across the town.

Maria Cox, Community Development Worker with the WCDA has expressed her fear that if forced to shut it would result in thousands of families going hungry.

 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.”

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.

Stats collected by the Surplus Food project show that between January and April this year, more than 5,500 individuals accessed free food, many coming from outside the RG2 area, with some coming as far afield as Newbury and Oxford.

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 added: “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.

“Crucially, we don’t judge. We don’t means-test. We’re unique in what we do and we’re simply here to help.”

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."