Extra meals have been donated to homeless people across the region thanks to Keele University’s partnership with a local homelessness service.

Like other universities, Keele supported its students at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic by offering food parcels for those who were unable to go out and buy food for themselves.

Thankfully Keele had more than enough packages available, resulting in a surplus of food which has now been donated to Brighter Futures.

The Hanley-based organisation has distributed the food to rough sleepers in Stoke-on-Trent as part of its mission to move people away from the streets.

Susan Warrender, Head of Catering and Retail at Keele University said: “We are pleased to be able to make this donation to such a worthy cause, and we hope that this goes some way to aiding Brighter Futures in their important work to help vulnerable people.”

Marie Smith, Manager of the Rough Sleepers Team at Brighter Futures, said: “We’re all grateful to Keele University for the work they’ve done and for getting behind us. These gestures go a long way to creating both engagement and trust with our customers– a big step in the journey to help them move away from the streets.

“Our customers are some of the most vulnerable people in our communities and they need support from us in different ways. Some of them have been homeless for many years and our work is about how we can help them change that around.”