'Significant reputational damage': Cash-strapped Telford foodshare project to close amid claims of online 'hostility'
The owner of a food surplus store in Telford has announced it will soon be closing after claiming online "hostility" has caused "significant reputational damage".
The founder of the NotJust Surplus Project in Telford has announced that she will soon be closing the project's Halesfield store.
Working with suppliers from across the UK, the organisation takes in food and other items past their 'best before' date to sell in the community store.
It's not been an easy ride for the organisation, which has mounted several fundraising campaigns in an attempt to stay afloat over recent years.
In November last year, the organisation was attempting to raise £60,000 to cover outstanding energy bills and install solar panels after being reportedly served with two electricity disconnection notices.
Now, founder Lea Bevan, said "ongoing hostility" online has "caused significant reputational damage" and has "made it impossible" for the project to continue.
In a post on social media, Ms Bevan, said: "The sustained stress has taken a serious toll on my health and has begun to affect my family, meaning continuing at this scale is no longer safe or sustainable."
Ms Bevan said the closure would mean staff at the site will be made redundant, although she would continue to run "small pop-up food shares".
She added: "This will be on a much smaller scale, and we will not be able to rescue or redistribute food in the volumes we once did from this site.
"Please know this decision comes from exhaustion, not from a lack of love for my beautiful Shropshire community.
"I am incredibly proud of what the team achieved here and deeply grateful to everyone who stood with us through everything."
