KEIGHLEY town councillors will work out a process for donating surplus produce from Keighley allotments to people in need.

The town council voted to set up a working group to put together the details of how the scheme would function.

The proposal, which would make use of fresh fruit and vegetables grown by tenants on Keighley Town Council-owned allotment sites, was put forward at a town council meeting by Cllr Kaneez Akthar.

She explained: “I feel more could be done to connect our allotment tenants to the wider food poverty strategy.

“This is why I’d like to ask members to consider the possibility of setting up a working group to consider how we could encourage our tenants to become involved in creating a weekly contribution of a box of vegetables to the Salvation Army, with a view to extending the project to other food banks.”

The same proposal recommended that the town council could consider operating its own shop which would encourage the selling of locally grown produce at cost price.

But Cllr Gary Pedley said he doubted the town council’s allotments tenants produced enough of a surplus to be able to stock a shop.