AN engineering company has set up regular collection stations for employees to donate food to the town's food bank.

The King's Church Foodbank put out an appeal for extra support at the start of the pandemic as demand started to surge.

The food bank has seen a 40 per cent rise in the number of people it is supporting during the crisis, including about 410 young people and families with children.

Cleveland Bridge UK, which has offices and a factory in Yarm Road, has responded by setting up a new workplace initiative to support the charitable organisation.

After making an initial donation of a trolley-full of food to King’s Church, the company is now encouraging employees to donate further items including rice, soup, potatoes and other tinned products, which will then be shared with families in need in the local community.

Collection stations have been set up throughout its offices and factory for staff to drop off their donations, which will be regularly delivered to the foodbank in Whessoe Road.

Caroline Todd, manager at King’s Church Foodbank Darlington, said: “We’re really grateful for the support we’re receiving from Cleveland Bridge and indeed all local businesses that are supporting us.

“Now more than ever, families are relying on our food bank to help get them through this difficult time and any donations we receive make a huge difference to people’s lives in Darlington.”

The food bank collection for King’s Church is one of the company's "stay at home’ initiatives that has been taking place throughout the pandemic.

In addition to a company-wide clap for carers at its 22-acre site, the company also organised a bridge building project for local school children.

Inspiring future generations of engineers, and to add some more excitement to home schooling, children were encouraged to build bridges from household items and share photos of their structures with Cleveland Bridge of social media.

Chris Droogan, managing director of Cleveland Bridge, said: “Our employees engage in support for our community and try whenever possible contribute to local initiatives like the King’s Church Foodbank, which do such important work in the town.

“It’s important to us that Cleveland Bridge employees support this worthwhile initiative.”

For more details about how to donate to the food bank and how it access its services visit www.kingschurchdarlington.org/foodbank.