A Tairgwaith centre has thanked local businesses who donate fresh food to their community scheme.

Canolfan Maerdy has been running its Feed People not Landfill project from the centre called the Food Hub.

Not to be mistaken for a Foodbank the Food Hub is about minimising food waste.

The Welsh Government funded scheme at the New Road centre was arranged by volunteer and trustee Len Presse who discovered FoodCloud.

He explains: "The scheme pairs supermarkets with local charities such as ours by alerting us to available unsold surplus food items via a mobile app. This food is then collected by us and supplied to people in need. It started with one collection a week from Ammanford Tesco and now we pick up from Co-op, Lidl and Poundstretcher too."

Len said it was through volunteering at the centre that he realised there was a need for such a scheme.

"I saw that families were struggling, and when I came across FoodCloud I thought it was a fantastic opportunity."

Canolfan Maerdy volunteers now make 110 collections per month, amounting to almost 30 tonnes of food per year.

"The food we collect and donate is the equivalent of around 72,000 meals per year," added Len. "We have also saved 110 tonnes of greenhouse gasses in the process.

"Of course, none of this is possible without the fantastic volunteers that work tirelessly every week."

The food is sorted at the centre by volunteers and then distributed throughout the community from their brand new Food Hub room.

Fellow trustee, Sonia Reynolds said the volunteers at the centre all work together to ensure not one bit of food goes to waste.

She explains: "As well as being available for collection at the Food Hub, we also cook the food here at the centre. We can use it to feed the children at our childcare facility which helps us to keep costs down and make childcare more affordable for parents."

Local schools are also benefitting from donations of fruit and community organisations such as Lles Wellbeing, Brynaman are also given donations.

At a recent event at Canolfan Maerdy, the trustees, volunteers and supermarket staff came together to recognise the success of the venture and to make a fresh appeal for more volunteers.

Mark Cheeseman, Services manager at Ammanford Tesco said they were proud to be able to support the scheme.

Adding: "It not only helps create less food waste for Tesco but also helps the community."

The Food Hub is open 10.30am-3.30pm Monday to Friday.