IF 700 Darlington residents donated just £10, one of the town’s busiest foodbanks could continue helping vulnerable people for another year.

That is the message from Salvation Army minister Colin Bradshaw, who says demand at the foodbank he operates is continuing to grow at an alarming rate.

Major Bradshaw and his team of dedicated volunteers hand out emergency food supplies to scores of people every Friday evening, with between 40 and 68 people attending every week in the hour they are open.

A register containing more than 500 names shows people of all ages and backgrounds are using the service, with the majority aged between 50 and 70.

Appealing for help in meeting the £7,000 annual costs of running the service, Major Bradshaw said a 72-year-old man joined 28 others in using the facility for the first time this winter.

Major Bradshaw said: “This is a sad situation that I would not wish on anyone but because of the generous support of the Darlington people, we have been able to meet the need so far.

“From April of this year until March next year, we will need more than £7,000 of food and money to feed people every Friday night.

“The food bags we make up contain food that costs no more than £2.50 and the people, many of whom are over 50, are desperate people who live in our community.

“If over 700 people could donate £10 each – the cost of a couple of coffees and cakes in many Darlington cafés - we could run the foodbank for a year and together, make a difference.”

Monetary donations would allow Major Bradshaw and his team to buy food but they are also happy to accept donations of non-perishable items such as UHT milk, tinned food and cereal.

Major Bradshaw said: “We go through 40-68 bags of food a week, 2,080 to 3,536 a year.

“If you have other food, we will use it because nothing is wasted, but we do need the food to be tinned or dried.

“If you are able to put £10 in a card and post it to us, it would really help. Nobody is paid, our foodbank is run by volunteers and the office we use is rent-free so every penny goes into our foodbank account to be spent on food.”

He added: “I want to thank everyone who has supported our foodbank in the past – you have all made such a massive difference at a time of need in our community.”

Donations of sanitary products would also be welcomed and can be donated along with food items at the Salvation Army Citadel on Thompson Street East while cash and cheque donations made payable to The Salvation Army can be posted to the citadel.

For more information, call 01325 380994.