Today, The Bridge at Leigh has been announced as one of twelve organisations to benefit from funding through the Government’s Tackling Food Surplus at the Farm Gate scheme.

The Tackling Food Surplus at the Farm Gate scheme is designed to strengthen links between charities and farmers, with the goal of getting fresh produce to food banks, shelters and local kitchens around the country.

Grants totalling £13.6 million have been offered to 12 food charities across England – including Food in Community, FareShare and The Bridge at Leigh – to redistribute an estimated 19,000 tonnes of food directly from farms to help families and fight food poverty in communities.

Leigh and Atherton MP – Jo Platt – said: “The Tackling Food Surplus at the Farm Gate scheme is a great initiative and I’m glad to hear that The Bridge is set to benefit.

“The Bridge at Leigh does so much good throughout our community and many residents benefit from the services that it offers. I’m hopeful that this funding will help the team to support even more local people.”

Funds from Government’s Tackling Food Surplus at the Farm Gate scheme can go towards purchasing new packaging and labelling equipment and vehicles to move goods from farms to a redistribution organisation,. It can also be spent on new equipment, like fridges or freezers, to safely store food to ensure that it lasts longer.