THE Swindon Food Collective has seen 12 tonnes of produce donated over the harvest festival period.

This time of year is the most important time for food banks as it relies on the donations to get them through Christmas.

More families also need the the charity's support because they don't have free school meals to rely on for children's lunches during half term.

Chairman of the collective Claire Collier said: “We have had lots of our usual volunteers help with donations over this busy period. We have had 65 tonnes come in this year but 12 tonnes over harvest, which is 20 per cent of our annual income.

“We have seen a rise in the number of people needing our help because it’s half term and these children need to be fed.”

The SFC is running its Pop on a Pound campaign asking people to put a pound on every donated tin.