A project which distributes surplus food from supermarkets to homeless people is under threat because no suitable warehouse premises can be found.

FareShare delivers produce which would otherwise be thrown away to day centres and hostels in Brighton and Hove.

Since June 2002 it has been operating from a depot in Bolney, as storage space in Brighton could not be found.

But the lease is due to expire at the end of May. Unless somewhere is found in the next few days, the project might be forced to stay outside Brighton and Hove for at least another 18 months and could eventually close down.

The charity collects food from Sainsbury's, Pret A Manger and Marks and Spencer. It delivers to 22 projects in the city which provide meals for homeless and vulnerable people.

The food is within its use-by date but past its sell-by date. It is collected, sorted and delivered by volunteers and employment trainees.

The service encourages homeless and socially excluded people into day centres, where they can seek support with housing and medical problems.

But being based so far out of the city has caused problems.

It means food has to be collected from the supermarkets, taken away to the warehouse at Bolney to be sorted and then back to Brighton and Hove for distribution.

The distance has proved time consuming and uneconomic and has prevented the project from developing.

Mike McNally, project manager for Brighton and Hove FareShare, has been trying to find suitable premises.

He said: "What very little warehouse space there is on the market is snapped up by commercial businesses able to pay the extremely high rents and enter into long leases, which the charity is unable to do.

"In the last quarter, the charity has saved 30 tons of surplus food from ending up in landfill sites, distributing it to agencies and day centres and helping to feed over 6000 homeless and vulnerable people each week in the city.

"What we need before the end of May is at least 2000sqft of ground-floor sorting and storage space within the city on a short lease and at an affordable rent."

If anyone has a vacant property or would like to help in any way, ring Mike McNally on 07766 075269 or Sandie Foster, development and fund-raising manager on 01273 279177 or 07909 521615.