CHURCHGOERS in Odiham have set up a new initiative to stop the waste of fresh produce.

Lynn Lymer, who works at Odiham’s All Saints Church and is a volunteer for Hart Food Bank, got talking to fellow churchgoer Roger Jones and stumbled upon a new food-raising scheme.

Each Sunday at the church, residents are invited to leave donations of preserved and tinned foods which Lynn then deposits at the Hart Food Bank.

But Mr Jones, a keen gardener and grower of fresh produce, asked one Sunday whether he could leave his fresh produce to be deposited, only to be met with disappointment as food bank’s cannot take fresh produce.

And it was here that Lynn had a brainwave and set up the new initiative with Roger’s help.

Residents with spare fresh fruits and vegetables from their garden that would otherwise be thrown on the compost can now give their spare produce to the food bank, which can then be bought by other villagers for a small donation.

The win-win initiative means that food never goes to waste, and the hart Food Bank still receives their donations via the cash raised from sales.

On the first weekend they tried the initiative, £40 was raised for the food bank, and they have now surpassed well over £100 of donations.

With more and more foods coming into season Lynn hopes the popularity and subsequent donations will continue to grow.

She said: “It’s an easy way of raising money for the food bank, and it’s a win-win situation. People are going home from church with a smile and a bag full of fruit.”