AN Ellesmere Port charity has ramped up the number of meals it is providing to those in need thanks to the ongoing support of the Marks & Spencer store near Cheshire Oaks.

With the countdown to Christmas now on and many experiencing financial difficulties, The Port Grocery is continuing to benefit greatly from the vital M&S food redistribution programme.

A colleague app, launched at the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, is now used to notify charities when surplus food is available, helping to increase donations and stop food going to waste.

More than 240,000 meals have been provided to charity groups across Cheshire using surplus food donated by M&S.

Rita Lewis, operations manager at The Port Grocery which is providing a cooked Christmas meal to Ellesmere Port residents, said: "Our entire project began five years ago with a food donation from M&S.

"All these years on and they are still helping us fight the war against food waste and have allowed us to become the 'Food Waste Warriors' that we are today."

Neil Parnell, store Manager at M&S Cheshire Oaks, said: "It’s going to be a Christmas like no other this year and we’re doing everything we can to ensure it's as easy as possible for local charities and causes to collect meals to feed the people who need it most, particularly as we enter the festive season when money can be a concern for many.

"When we have surplus food our absolute priority is for it to end up on someone’s plate, through our charity redistribution programme with Neighbourly.

"We’re thrilled that the app has already helped to make such a difference to charities like The Port Grocery, and hope to continue to help charities across Cheshire this season to support our local community and help prevent food going to waste."

In partnership with Neighbourly the new colleague app is now in all 585 M&S stores, enabling many of them to more than double their food redistribution rates.

Across the UK, more than 7.8 million meals have been donated since March 1 alone.

The Port Grocery diverts perfectly good food away from landfill to provide high-quality affordable options for the local community.