A FOOD bank has been given taxpayer cash to help prevent 100 children a month from going hungry in a Teesside town.

Hartlepool Borough Council has agreed to give Hartlepool Foodbank £7,800 as part of its 2015/16 budget after hearing that the charity helped 4,507 people last year, of whom 1,253 were children and teenagers under the age of 17.

The money, which is to be paid in two equal instalments of £3,900 next month and in September, is coming from the council’s provision for Local Welfare Support.

The council has previously donated a total of £14,000 to the Foodbank, partly as a result of an underspend in its Local Welfare Support Scheme (LWSS) - a hardship fund that provides a mix of crisis and non-crisis support to those most in need.

There are also well-known centres in Billingham, Middlesbrough and Redcar and there are thought to be a number of smaller operations.

The Trussell Trust runs nine food banks across the North-East and last year revealed it helped 59,146 adults and children, a 463 per cent rise on the previous 12 months. Changes to the benefits payments system are often blamed for the need for temporary relief. Families receive three days' worth of emergency food when they are accepted for help.

Councillor Christopher Akers-Belcher, the leader of Hartlepool Borough Council, said: “Statistics revealed in the 2014 annual report of Hartlepool Foodbank are a stark reminder of just how many local families are struggling to make ends meet.

“It is particularly frightening that on average more than 100 children a month are being fed thanks to food bank handouts, children who would otherwise go hungry."

Hartlepool Foodbank Co-ordinator Al Wales said: “We continue to be very grateful to the council for its ongoing financial support which is playing a key role in enabling us to support increasing numbers of hard-pressed local families.

“It is reassuring to know that we live in a town that takes the welfare of its residents so seriously.”

The Hartlepool Foodbank’s 2014 annual report reveals that the charity helped 4,507 people throughout the year, of which 1,253 were children or aged under 17. Those figures equate to 12 people per day using the foodbank or 375 a month, including 104 children a month.

The foodbank is open on Tuesday and Fridays between 11.30am and 1.30pm when non-perishable items can be dropped off. The town’s Tesco and Morrisons supermarkets have permanent collection points as do the Sainsbury’s stores in Murray Street and Station Lane at Seaton Carew. Asda is also happy to take donations on behalf of the foodbank. Where groups of people, schools and other organisations have collected a significant amount of food, collection can be arranged by calling 01429-598404.