A FOOD surplus organisation in Didcot is appealing for charities to take advantage of its abundance of donated goods.

The South Oxfordshire Food and Education Alliance (SOFEA) was set up at Trident Business Park in September, since when it has been inundated with donations from supermarkets and food manufacturers.

SOFEA receives ‘surplus’ stocks of food from companies such as Tesco and Nestle, as well as regular donations from other food manufacturers.

Richard Kennell, chief executive of SOFEA, said: “We’re very close to Tesco’s distribution centre, and every Tuesday we receive a lorry-load of food.

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“Last week we had 50 pallets of Tesco finest back bacon.

“We have all this food, but need more charities to work with us so it gets into the hands of those who need it most.”

“Last week we received 26 pallets of corn flakes. It’s brilliant, but it’s just finding it a home,” said Mr Kennell.

Unlike other food charities, SOFEA hopes to help both local charities as well as the young and long-term unemployed.

In addition to distributing food to charities such as the Oxford Food Bank and mental health charity Mind, SOFEA has a staff of 50 local trainees who are either unemployed or lack further education qualifications.

Mr Kennell, a former business and economics studies teacher, feels the hands-on approach for training people at SOFEA benefits those not suited to a classroom environment.

“Working in the warehouse gives our trainees practical skills, an understanding of communication, teamwork and practical applications for maths and English,” he added.

One person who has benefited from this training scheme is 23-year-old Kris Thrower.

He said: “I left college with a qualification in bricklaying, but couldn’t find any work.”

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  • Kris Thrower

“I was unemployed for three years and was just really depressed. I didn’t leave the house for two years, not even going into my back garden.”

Hearing about the SOFEA training programme Mr Thrower signed up and things have improved dramatically.

He said: “The job at the warehouse has been great – I hope that once I’ve finished I’ll get a job in something similar.”

SOFEA is about to see its first set of trainees graduate.

“We’re very hopeful they will get jobs,” said Mr Kennell.

  • Visit sofea.uk.com to find out about training or working with SOFEA

 

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