EACH week between 15 and 20 people are dependent on a foodbank in Barnard Castle, it has been revealed.
Volunteers of the Store House foodbank, which is operated by Influence Church, manned a charity stall at the town’s weekly market last week to highlight the situation, as well as to promote their uniform bank and baby bundle projects.
Vanessa Husband, from the church, said the stall presented a display of what goes into a weekly foodbank parcel, the various school uniforms available to those in need and a unique bundle given to new mothers.
She added that the response from people had been largely positive. Ms Husband said: “Surprisingly, a lot of people didn’t know the food bank is there, or that it is still going.
“The main thing is to let people know where and how they can donate.”
Among items that can be dropped off at the collection point at The Witham, are UHT milk, noodles, tinned meals, tinned fruit, tinned meat, rice, cereal and tinned fish.
The school uniform bank is also proving popular, Ms Husband said, with a lot of items branded with school badges on offer to those in need.
She urged people whose children had outgrown their uniforms to pass them on.
The most recent addition to the foodbank is the baby bundles project which is aimed at new mothers who could not afford the essentials for their new-born, including clothes, towels and toiletries.
Ms Husband said: “And it comes in a Moses basket, so it is everything a young mother needs to get started.”
She concluded: “A lot of people don’t know there are people suffering behind closed doors, especially with the rise in fuel prices, people have to decided whether to heat or eat.”
Anyone wants to access Store House, or knows of someone who needs help, can visit the Methodist Church, in Barnard Castle, every Friday between 4pm and 6pm.
