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As the cost of living rises, people are struggling to pay for gas and electricity and also put food on the table.

Sadly, the reliance on the food bank is going in the wrong direction, with record numbers depending on the service every week.

To keep up with the rising demand, Alnwick Food Bank has appealed for donations of food and hygiene items.

Around 30 months ago, the service was a small outfit and described itself as a “social gathering where they handed out seven to eight parcels per week”.

The number of donations needed to support the service is on the rise, as demand reaches a record high.

Since then, the volunteers have seen a 300 to 400 per cent increase in the amount of food parcels required.

The voluntary service is now providing to 110 households, with 70-80 of these using the service regularly. The rest rely on the parcels when hit with unexpected costs, such as new school uniform or garage bills.

To support the district, the food bank hase opened a hub in Rothbury with a team of 10 volunteers providing to the Coquet Valley, which has now hit double figures using the service each week.

Clive Gibson, chairman of the trustees, said: "We hoped after Covid that things would slow down a bit and indeed they did a little, but then the cost of living crisis came in with all the normal disruption, plus the war in Ukraine, so we anticipated things would increase.

Alnwick District Food Bank needs more donations to keep up with demand.

"We have been bracing ourselves for a busy winter and sure enough, it’s all taken off again. I would say by next month we will be at similar levels to the pandemic.”

Clive added what the food bank means for the community: “The Alnwick District Food Bank should be seen, and I believe is seen, as a community asset.

"We are here to provide assistance to those people in our community and the surrounding villages and towns that are struggling. It doesn’t solve their problems, we’re not here to try to solve problems, but what we can do is help to relieve at least some of the pressure when it comes to putting food on the table. So we like to see ourselves as a community asset and sadly in this day and age, a vital service.”

For information on what to donate, visit https://www.alnwickdistrictfoodbank.co.uk/donations.

To get help from the food bank, visit https://www.alnwickdistrictfoodbank.co.uk/how-to-get-help.

Alnwick District Food Bank issues urgent appeal for donations