A WOMEN’S exercise club in Taunton is to host a food collection drive for local people in need.

Curves is encouraging women to show their charitable side by participating in the 13th annual Curves Food Drive from March 1 to 18.

The drive aims to collect non-perishable items and monetary donations for The Open Door charity.

Sharon Chown, of Curves, in Taunton, said: “At the core of our business is the message that women are stronger when they rally together, and that is the point we hope to bring home with our food drive.

“We want to show our community just how powerful the generosity of our members can be.”

Members who donate a bag of groceries or make a donation during March will receive a Curves Food Bag for free and non-members who do likewise between March 1 to 18 can join Curves for free. Curves will waive the cost to join, saving £149.

Over the past five years, a total of almost 54 million kilograms of food has been collected and distributed to local communities all over the world through the Curves Food Drive.

Sharon said: “We hope women in the Taunton area will come together and participate in this initiative.

“Even if you’re not thinking about joining a gym, you can still drop off your donations.

There are so many people here in our own community who need our help right now.”

For more information, contact Sharon Chown at 01823-351444 or curvestaunton@aol.com