A VOLUNTEER-run organisation is taking over management of the Swindon Foodbank.

Swindon Food Collective is run by volunteers formerly responsible for the town’s foodbank.

There had been fears the vital service would close, after Swindon Christian Community Projects, which operated Swindon Foodbank, announced in May that governance problems meant it had been forced to close at the end of the month.

An interim solution meant the foodbank was able to continue to operate, with hungry families referred via organisations like Swindon Borough Council.

Now, it has been put on a more permanent footing with a council grant for more than £50,000 handed to the new Swindon Food Collective.

Writing exclusively in the Swindon Advertiser, the council’s deputy leader Coun Russell Holland said: “The foodbank is quite simply a lifeline to people who find themselves in crisis.

“The council already provides a number of services to help those in need, but I felt it was important to provide this transition funding to keep the foodbank going until the Swindon Food Collective can obtain its charity status and begin operating the service on a sustainable footing.

“I would like to thank all the volunteers who contribute so much to the foodbank and to encourage all the generous people who donate food to the scheme to keep giving.”

The new not-for-profit will operate the foodbank as before, with seven distribution centres. Those requiring the foodbanks help will be referred by agencies. It is supported by more than 60 volunteers.

The organisation’s three directors, Clare Collier, Roy Stovell and Helen Gerrish, said: “That we’ve set up the new collective is down to the solidarity and commitment from the volunteers. It’s down to them that Swindon Borough Council is willing to take us seriously.”

A launch party for the new Swindon Food Collective will be held next week.