[New] Trussell Trust can bank on

A leading college group has helped keep food banks’ shelves stocked up across Warwickshire and Worcestershire.

Staff and students across the college group WCG have been collecting food donated by the staff and students at four colleges.

The colleges’ food bank drive comprised of easy to access collection and donation points at the libraries of Moreton Morrell College, Royal Leamington Spa College, Rugby College and Pershore College.

This is the fourth successive donations drive, with WCG’s collection campaign beginning in December 2019 and continuing through the Covid lockdowns of 2020 and 2021.

Items donated included tinned meat, lentils, biscuits, pasta, tea and coffee, with donations then taken to each of the colleges’ local Trussell Trust food banks across Warwickshire and Worcestershire.

The Trussell Trust coordinates with local partners providing a service which assures residents can put food on their tables.

Steph Nettleton, library manager at WCG, said: “We are delighted to be supporting the wonderful work of our local food banks, playing our part in helping to maintain people’s access to food and supplies over the winter months.

“The campaign’s success would not have been possible without our library users and we have seen a variety of staff and students generously donating to a great cause.”

At Royal Leamington Spa College, a cohort of A Level sociology students also got involved by running a collection drive for Warwick District Food Banks.

The project was part of the learners’ personal development unit to become Active Citizens, with the students setting up the foodbank project to become more community minded.

The group collected bags containing a range of tinned and long-life goods including milk, spaghetti, fruit juice and potatoes.

Alongside food, the students also collected household essentials which were in high demand such as toiletries, washing liquid and toilet rolls.

Keeping in the festive spirit, people also donated some Christmas chocolate, puddings and biscuits treats.

To find out more about the Trussell Trust in Warwickshire and Worcestershire and how to donate, visit https://warwickdistrict.foodbank.org.uk/ and https://worcester.foodbank.org.uk/

Energy saving experts Smart Systems have been helping businesses make better use of energy for more than 20 years. The Coventry based company, which has started offering solar PV to businesses and domestic customers, has had solar panels fitted to their own facility.

Smart Systems is an agile innovative business supplying a wide range of products to facilities management customers and over 600 electrical wholesalers. The firm has become a leader in supplying creative commercial lighting solutions to many environments, helping businesses reduce costs, waste and environmental impact. Their clients include schools, factories, offices and local authorities, with many of the projects being carried out on a return on investment (ROI) basis.

The company’s latest innovation saw them install 85 solar power panels to their facility in Coventry, with a predicted ROI of 4-5 years. The company earned a grant from the EDF.

As experts in energy saving, the company is also supplying solar panels and installation services as part of the business. With energy costs rising and businesses dealing with other economic challenges, Smart Systems wants to help educate business leaders on the benefits of solar and prove the benefits by essentially ‘practising what they preach.’

Ian Hill, Smart Systems CEO and founder, said: “Clearly, we could not preach about the benefits of solar and then not install a system onto the roof of our own factory in Oban Road Coventry. We use power in our everyday processes as well as in the production areas and with energy costs spiralling, it is the natural thing to do.”

One of the common misconceptions about solar energy is that they need direct sunlight to operate, when in fact, Solar PV generates power all year round. In the UK alone, solar can produce as much as 30% of UK electricity at different points of the year.

The Coventry and Warwickshire Green Business Programme is partly funded by the European Regional Development Fund and is being delivered by Coventry City Council, Coventry University, and Coventry University Enterprises Ltd.