THIS week, we are shouting about the town’s food bank that helps to feed thousands of struggling people who have fallen on hard times.

Aisles of shelves filled with food tower above the 60 volunteers who work at the Westlea warehouse and seven distribution centres around town which are operated by the Swindon Food Collective

The warehouse team pop in on Tuesdays and Thursdays to weigh and sort the piles of donations they receive into boxes labelled by best before date, while vans travel to distribute stock to the depots.

Manager Cher Smith said: "We currently have six months of stock and we go through 50 to 60 tonnes a year. Last year, we fed 5,000 people and this year, we have already fed 5,500 - whether that increase is because more people know about us and know they can get help from us or there's a bigger issue is hard to say.

You never know who's going to walk in, everyone's different and some are apologetic, which I find incredible, and their stories are heartbreaking, then when they are settled, they donate food to help people who were in their situation.

"Circumstances can change suddenly due to losing a job or getting in a car accident or a change of address causing a benefits delay, so we help people through this difficult time, that's why we're here and it's important that we meet that need, which is greater than ever.

"It's quite a strenuous job and some of our volunteers have been with us through thick and thin over the last 10 years, they work like busy bees and it's amazing what they achieve."

Each person referred to the collective receives a food parcel of essentials like milk, fish, meat, potatoes, vegetables and fruit, with a bag full of extra luxuries that have been donated, such as crisps, chocolate, curry and porridge, and household products. Bonus treats are included during Easter, Christmas and the summer holidays.

Allocated portions are increased if a family of four is in need rather than one person, but everyone being helped by the charity can only receive three food parcels in six months unless there are exceptional circumstances.

The Swindon Food Collective works with schools in the area to find families in need of support and gratefully receive four months worth of their stock from harvest campaigns every autumn.

Cher added: "After the summer holidays, our shelves are empty so the harvest campaign is brilliant for us - last year we got 17 tonnes of supplies from it There are spikes in demand over Christmas and the summer, when schools are out and parents who are just about getting by can't rely on free school meals and have to change their budgeting. More single people are coming here for support because most homeless shelters don't provide meals any more, and a lot of working families. We've discussed what could happen after Honda closes but we are not sure if that will cause a surge.

"Our overheads have dropped from £60,000 to £35,000 since we became independent because a lot of our admin costs are no longer needed, though we rely on donations, grants and support from businesses to keep going - it's local people helping local people."

Supplies on the wishlist include long-life milk, fruit squash, fruit juice, coffee, sugar, meat and corned beef. Please do not donate out of date food and drink as the collective cannot use it and then must spend money on fuel to deliver it to the tip.

To find out where to donate food or money, visit swindonfoodcollective.org

To suggest a Shout About Swindon idea, call 01793 501734 or email daniel.angelini@newsquest.co.uk