A POP-UP food box in a Chippenham church set up to help parents struggling to feed their children over the summer holidays has been an outstanding success.

Volunteers at St Peter’s Church, on Lords Mead have been handing out leftover food donated by local supermarkets every Tuesday and Thursday morning of the summer holidays to help stop families going hungry when their children no longer get free school meals.

Last week the church saw 25 families use the temporary food box. Around 100,000 children in the South West are eligible for free school meals during term-time, and in the summer holidays thousands of families struggle to feed their children so rely on food banks to help.Members of the congregation enlisted the help of Marks & Spencer, Tesco and Morrisons, who all contributed to the scheme, donating items like fresh fruit and vegetables, bread, pasta and eggs.

The Rev Andrew Gubbins was surprised the scheme had done so well, and said he was disappointed it was needed in modern Britain.

“It has been an eye-opening experience,” he said. “Over the last couple of summers there has been TV coverage of high demand for foodbanks and breakfast clubs in cities, and just because Chippenham isn’t a city doesn’t mean there aren’t people that have similar needs.

“I just wondered whether it would make a difference if we helped.

“We started with two or three families and now we are looking at 25, which is something like 80 or 90 people.

“It is humbling that they are willing to trust us, willing to come out of the woodwork and they feel that we can help a bit.

“I have been sticking to the positive and the sharper things I save for my sermons when I am in congregation, reflecting on the disappointment that our country can’t provide enough well paid jobs and a simple enough benefit system to help with changing circumstances.”

“The reaction from this has been very positive.

Around 100,000 children in the South West are eligible for free school meals during term-time, and in the summer holidays thousands of families struggle to feed their children so rely on food banks to help.