Cloth bags could cut plastic waste
Holyport: Call for volunteers to help with food bank project
A Holyport resident is looking for help making cloth bags for food banks to reduce plastic waste.
Gina Walter, a Holyport resident, has a daughter who volunteers for Maidenhead Foodshare.
She became aware of Sewing to Save, a project helping food banks reduce plastic bag use by providing supplies to their users in cloth bags.
Food banks up and down the country are calling on communities to sew for them as part of the project.
Gina contacted Foodshare to gauge their interest in taking part in the initiative.
“The response was really positive, so I’ve decided to try to coordinate something over the summer months,” she said. “In one week they estimate they give out 120 plastic bags.”
“Rather like sewing for scrubs last year, this is on a
voluntary basis, anybody can join and contribute.
“It’s straight line sewing, so it’s a nice project for youngsters wanting to get started on something for the long days ahead over the holidays.”
To match the 120 plastic bags used a week, Gina is hoping for that many cloth bags in total, plus some spare to cover loss and damage from repeated use.
“There is no provision of fabric, but if you have anything suitable about to be thrown out, it’s time to recycle,” said Gina.
Heavyweight fabric is best, such as those used for curtains or upholstery fabric. However, lighter fabric can still be used as not every bag needs to hold
heavy contents, Gina says.
The project needs bags made from suitable cloth to a simple pattern. Anyone unable to sew can alternatively donate fabric.
These and completed bags can be dropped to Gina or she can collect them and take them over to Foodshare.
There is also a need for pre-printed iron-on labels which will identify the bags as Foodshare bags.
Anyone interested in helping should contact Gina on 07813 945886.
To learn more about Sewing to Save visit www.greenearthplan .org/sewing-to-save
For a how-to video on making a cloth bag, visit tinyurl.com/axz5ep3