MORE than 130 food boxes were donated to Chiseldon Parish Council to help feed struggling families through the coronavirus crisis.

Swindon Children’s Scrapstore has put food on the table for people in the village since the start of lockdown.

Chief executive Olivia McCann said: “We started doing this to help families, couples and people who are living alone who are finding it difficult to get by through lockdown.

“A lot of people are struggling financially so we, along with others, give them that support.

“It has been extremely hard work because we’re a small charity and we’ve had to minimise the number of people working at one time because of Covid-19.

Everyone has worked extremely hard to help feed these families.

“It’s difficult to hear people crying on the phone to us about how hard they’re finding it because you just want to help them and that’s why the Scrapstore along with other organisations are doing this,” she said.

The Scrapstore has also been working with Swindon Borough Council to help feed people in and around Swindon.

The council has been given nearly £228,000 by the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs to allow the council and its partners carry on with the operation to support people in need.

People who have been helped include those who can’t go out because they are shielding and those who cannot afford groceries.

The grant has been shared with organisations such as Swindon Night Shelter, the Harbour Project, Bags/Boxes of Hope at Gorse Hill Baptist Church, Swindon Carers Centre and others.

Over the last six months a total of 625 food parcels have been sent out to families in need across the area.

But the Scrapstore is anticipating a rise in the number of people who will need parcels to get them by.

Olivia told the Adver: “We expect the demand to blow up again because of the rise in cases and new restrictions being brought in.

“We don’t have the capacity alone to meet that demand because of all the projects the Scrapstore run, so it’s good all these other organisations are getting involved and helping.

“Our priority is to help these people so we are preparing by stockpiling food, such as tins and dry foods, we also put fresh food in there so they can have a balanced diet.”