DONATIONS OF chicken are winging their way to food banks, school breakfast clubs and homeless shelters across Glasgow and the west of Scotland, courtesy of the SRUC.

The generous 1.4 tonne donation, which included 600kg of whole chicken, 250kg of chicken legs and 615kg of chicken breasts, came from the SRUC's carcass evaluation unit on the Auchincruive Estate in South Ayrshire.

The chicken was donated to FareShare – a charity which aims to relieve food poverty and reduce food waste in the UK by redistributing nutritious, in-date and safe to eat food. Every week the charity donates food to 11,000 frontline charities and community groups across the UK.

SRUC’s chicken donation went to more than 100 charity and community groups across Glasgow and the West of Scotland including hostels, day centres, lunch clubs, addiction agencies, young people’s projects and refugee centres.

The college's director of commercialisation and innovation, Colin MacEwan, said: “At this difficult time, SRUC is doing all it can to support and help the community though the wide range of mechanisms it has at its disposal including accommodation, labs, skills and products.

“We were put in touch with FareShare through the Trussell Trust which manages foodbanks nationally and have donated 1.4 tonnes of chicken to frontline charities at this crucial time when the supply of safe, nutritious food to vulnerable people is at risk.”

Food Officer at FareShare Scotland, Teresa McGoldrick, added: “This food will be hugely welcomed by the hundreds of community organisations we serve supporting the elderly and vulnerable at home during this very difficult time. This generous donation means vulnerable people will be able to cook healthy and nourishing meals at home and not worry about the prospect of having no food and no means to get any.”