Tonnes of Tins campaign to ‘make such a difference to struggling families’

The Tonnes of Tins campaign, which is in its second year, saw customers and staff donate thousands of tins to foodbanks across Hampshire, Sussex and Kent.

It involved Southern Water partnering with a variety of local community radio stations, including Southampton-based pair Fiesta 95 FM and Awaaz FM, as well as logistics and foodbank partner charity UKHarvest.

The Chichester-based charity helped share the donations with more than 50 foodbanks, homelessness charities and refuges across the region.

Southern Water’s executive team further matched the amount donated, awarding an extra £30,000 to local foodbanks.

A total of 12.7 tonnes were donated through the five-week campaign – the equivalent weight of two African elephants, with some to spare, or 44,000 meals.

Alex Willumsen, from Southern Water, said: "The support our customers, employees and communities gave this campaign is absolutely incredible.

"This will make such a difference to families across our region who are struggling during this cost-of-living crisis.

"We’re delighted this brilliant campaign has helped even more people than last year. All of this was made possible through working collaboratively with radio stations and UK Harvest, we can’t thank them enough for their support."

Sarah Morison, from UKHarvest, said: "We are proud to be a logistics partner to this year’s Tonnes of Tins that successfully collected a vast amount of donated tins.

"Like UKHarvest, this campaign has really helped support local food banks and other recipients all needing additional food supplies over the summer.

"Our team of drivers and volunteers worked closely with a huge number of drop off points at libraries and supermarkets to co-ordinate the donations."