Up to 400 people benefited from a Thanksgiving clothes and household goods giveaway today.

Grateful Bread, set up to help those in need, handed out second hand clothes, shoes, kitchen items, decorations, towels, sheets, pillows, blankets, toys and books at City Hall in Hamilton.

Juliana Snelling, the founder of Grateful Bread, said that three of four truck loads of goods were given away.

She added: “It is my dream to do this drive every quarter. I want to thank the City of Hamilton for providing the venue for free – it couldn’t have been a better location, especially with the Christmas tree up.”

Ms Snelling, a barrister at city firm Canterbury Law, said: “There was an outpouring of donations.

“We also ask for books, which we have started donating to inmates at Westgate Correctional Facility and we also have our public school drive.”

She added: “It was a huge success, I was worried that there wouldn’t be enough guests, but it was the perfect location.

“It can be difficult to get the message out to some guests who may not have the internet so I was driving around shouting out of the window letting people who are on the streets know that the event was taking place.

“We also had some flyers out prior to the event.”

Hamilton pub and restaurant Docksider donated 100 meals that were handed out alongside the other items.

The bar and drinks firm Gosling’s also provided tables to display the goods and Adrian Cooper provided trucks to take the donations to City Hall.

Grateful Bread at first provided sit-down meals for people in need but was forced to call a halt because of Covid-19 restrictions.

But Ms Snelling said: “Because of Covid, I don’t think that will be the way we go forward.

“There are still plenty of churches and charities where people can get fed.”