Bradford district’s Junior Chamber says it has exceeded expectations with its pilot harvest festival project.

The appeal, from September 23 to October 25, collected donations from schools and businesses for those hit by poverty and hunger across the city.

Bradford Day Shelter in Edmund Street will start distributing the food and other items to the most vulnerable from next week, as part of Horton Housing.

Michelle Pemberton, JCI Bradford’s community director, said she was grateful to Dixons Trinity Academy and Music Primary, Bradford Grammar, Bankfoot Primary and Iqra Primary for collecting food to add to the campaign and to Bradford-based Multibrands International, which gave a large range of toiletries.

She said: “We decided to run the project because we know hunger and poverty are real issues faced by the young and elderly.”

Michelle visited Horton Housing and described it as an eye-opener.

“They feed up to 200 people per meal time in a day and prepare food parcels for people to take home if they are struggling.

“They also offer clothing and mental and physical health advice. It was truly amazing to see.”

Charlotte Bastain, head of day services at the Shelter, said the donations would prove vital as demand for their services increased in the winter.