A NEW scheme that will benefit four charities by giving them surplus food has been launched.

Each week 120 kilos of food from supermarkets and food manufacturers will be delivered to the Salvation Army in Chippenham.

This will be divided between itself and Unity House in Chippenham, Alzheimer’s Support Day Centre in Devizes and Amber Housing in Trowbridge.

The amount of food should provide lunch for 25 to 30 people, at a cost to each charity of £11 a week.

The scheme has been set up by the charity FareShare South West and the food supplied will be a combination of fresh meat, fruit, vegetables, cheese and bread, as well as dried food and soft drinks.

Geraldine McKibbin, Lloyds Banking Group manager and former Business Connector for Wiltshire, helped FareShare South West to bring the scheme to Wiltshire.

She said: “It is all in-date, good quality food that would otherwise be thrown away because maybe the packaging is dented, the bar code is wrong or it’s the end of a promotion.

“This has been the result of six months negotiation with community groups and I’m really delighted we have been able to make it happen.

“The community groups benefit by reducing their food costs, allowing them to spend their limited budgets on other core activities.”

Chippenham was selected as the local hub after Captain Lisa Goble of the Salvation Army contacted FareShare South West last year.

She said: “This is a great opportunity. The FareShare food will make a huge difference to the lives of many people in our area.”