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Former prime minister lauds ‘first-of-its-kind’ food and distribution hub
Former prime minister Gordon Brown has lauded “first-of-its-kind” food and essentials distribution hub set to launch in the West of England.
Brown described the initiative as “inspiring” and “ingenious”, backing proposals unveiled by the West of England Mayoral Combined Authority (WECA) for a multimillion-pound warehouse that would store and redistribute surplus goods including food and household products.
Inspired by Brown’s own Multibank model, the scheme would bring together charities, retailers and local authorities, including Bristol City Council and Bath & North East Somerset Council, to better support families facing hardship.
According to reports, some 67,000 children in the region are currently growing up in poverty.
West of England mayor Helen Godwin and local council leaders welcomed the proposed food and distribution hub – photo: WECA/Freia Turland
At present, many charities lack the storage space to accept bulk donations, meaning vital supplies do not always reach those in need.
The new hub aims to bridge that gap, while also offering training opportunities, food projects and employment support.
The “landmark” regional hub is being delivered by the WECA in partnership with Bristol Charities.
The proposed 30,000 sq ft warehouse, the size of a football pitch, would act as a central base to store, coordinate and redistribute surplus goods such as food, household items, clothing, bedding, furniture, white goods and school supplies, items that might otherwise end up in landfill.
Anti-poverty campaigner and former prime minister Brown said: “Mayor Helen Godwin’s ambition to bring together all the powers and ingenuity available in the West of England to tackle child poverty is inspiring.
“Helen deserves widespread support for her leadership, and compassion towards the children in her region, as she introduces these very welcome, new policies and new methods of cooperation to combat child poverty.”
Helen Godwin, mayor of the West of England, said: “Working together to prevent surplus food and household products from going to waste can help power our efforts to tackle child poverty.
“Our regional hub would make a real difference to people’s lives across the West of England. These proposals are innovative and nation-leading, bringing together food and non-food redistribution together for the first time under one roof, reflecting the collaboration between Bristol Charities, FareShare South West, Multibank, and our combined authority and local councils to get to this point.”
Up to £2m of regional funding is being proposed, matched by Bristol Charities, to develop a full business case.
Bristol Charities is one of the city’s oldest organisations, dedicated to supporting local communities for over 600 years – photo: Bristol Charities
Tony Dyer, leader of Bristol City Council, said: “Too many families in the West of England are struggling to access the food and the essentials they need, and the impacts of that hardship are felt most acutely by children.
“This proposed regional partnership with Bristol Charities represents an important investment in dignity, fairness, and long term support for the families who need it most.”
Bristol Charities is one of the city’s oldest organisations, dedicated to supporting local communities for over 600 years.
Originally formed from a collection of small trusts and almshouses, it has grown into a single organisation with the resources and independence to invest directly in communities.
Julian Mines, chief executive of Bristol Charities, said: “To tackle the deep inequalities across the region requires long-term sustained investment in infrastructure.
“On top of ever-increasing operational costs, charities and groups supporting local people are being squeezed by the availability of affordable premises, with many unconfident in their ability to deliver as a result.”
“Working together to prevent surplus food and household products from going to waste can help power our efforts to tackle child poverty,” said Helen Godwin, mayor of West of England – photo: Milan Perera
FareShare South West, which already redistributes thousands of tonnes of surplus food each year, says the hub would enable a major expansion of its work while strengthening support for communities across Bristol, Bath & North East Somerset and South Gloucestershire.
Lucy Bearn, chief executive of FareShare South West, added: “We are urgently in need of more space to meet the increasing demand we’re seeing across our region. This new hub would be a game changer in enabling us to rescue and share food for an additional 3 million meals by 2030.”
The hub is up for approval at the next WECA joint committee meeting on Friday.
Main photo: WECA/Freia Turland
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