A new food and essentials hub, described as the first of its kind in the UK, will provide a much-needed lifeline for thousands in the South West.

Developed in partnership with the West of England Combined Authority (WECA), Bristol Charities and FareShare South West, the plans are set to be a game-changer for a sector struggling to meet growing need for support.

Last year, FareShare South West rescued enough good, surplus food for 1.6 million meals, reaching some 18,000 people. But with need escalating, the charity has faced an impossible barrier, unable to increase the volume of food rescued without more space, but unable to fund that space in the current commercial market.

WECA and Bristol Charities have each pledged £2 million investment in the new hub, inspired by Gordon Brown's Multibank.

It will bring together different kinds of support, including food; white goods; surplus clothes; bedding; hygiene products; baby essentials; toys and furniture, under one roof. Currently, hundreds of millions of pounds worth of these items go to landfill each year.

The hub could also include a fully equipped catering kitchen to provide vital space for cooking projects and community meals; skills, including training in food hygiene, and other employment support such as work experience and apprenticeships for young people out of work.

Speaking about what it will mean for FareShare South West Chief Executive Lucy Bearn said: "This new unique partnership-led hub would enable FareShare South West to rescue and share food for an additional 3 million meals by 2030; to maximise the impact of our existing logistics operation; to scale up our pioneering employability programme.

“But more importantly, it would embed a new lever for community resilience in the west, through more food for existing projects, more space to run them, more storage; shared resources and knowledge; and a vital, connected space to create meaningful, lasting change for people in the west.”

The Voluntary, Community, and Social Enterprise (VCSE) sector provides a critical lifeline for families and households facing hardship. However, charities and community organisations need greater capacity to meet rising demand.

Last year, FareShare South West rescued 1,830 tonnes of good-quality food at risk of going to waste. The charity distributed 664 tonnes of food to more than 150 charities in Bristol, Bath and North East Somerset (BANES) and South Gloucestershire alone. But with some 67,000 children currently growing up in poverty in the West, there is more to do.

Mayor of the West of England Helen Godwin said: "Working together to prevent surplus food and household products from going to waste can help power our efforts to tackle child poverty, so that more children get the best start in life in our region.

“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.”