Portland College is lending a helping hand to other charities during the Covid-19 pandemic — and is backing a food project to help those most in need.

Thanks to a generous donation of £2,000 from Severn Trent Water, the college has bought extra food stock, which it is sharing with ‘Let’s All Eat’.

The initiative is run by the Academy Transformation Trust FE College (ATTFE), based at Sutton Community Academy, and provides essential food parcels for local people who are finding it difficult to feed themselves and their families.

The service initially started by providing low-cost or free food for people in its café. However, it has adapted to support more people in need and now delivers free food parcels in the Sutton area.

Every week Portland’s catering department is preparing and donating 120 sandwiches to be included in the food parcels, which are given to the homeless, elderly and vulnerable.

The food project said: “We don’t get sandwiches from anywhere else and we really appreciate the regular donations from Portland College. They help massively in bulking out our boxes and adding variety.

“It is thanks to the generous support from such organisations that we can carry on providing this lifeline to so many.”

The food parcels are delivered by volunteers as well as being distributed to foodbanks in Sutton and Kirkby.

David Powney, catering manager at Portland College, added: “We are proud to be able to support our local residents by sharing our resources.

“In times like these it is crucial that we come together as a community and support each other.

“Covid-19 has had such a devastating impact on some people’s lives and livelihoods and we are keen to help as much as we can.”

To find out how you can contribute to the Let’s All Eat Initiative, contact the ATTFE on 07867 451424 or email [email protected]

To find out more about supporting Portland College, visit www.portland.ac.uk/fundraising