Faith Features

Doreen and Malcolm Henderson's garden shed is a work in progress. Already kitted out with heating, carpets and industrial shelving they say they won't rest until the shelves are continually filled with tins and packets ready to give to those in need.

Doreen was visiting Canada when she first came across Foodbanks. Vouchers are held by professionals such as health visitors, the police, social care providers, and voluntary debt counsellors. They then identify those in need and offer them the voucher.

Supplies

Back in Cornwall Doreen and her husband Malcolm soon won over people at their local church at Kea, and then several other churches in the city, all rallying around to support the venture.

The distribution centre, based at Truro Methodist Church, will open twice a week. There people will be able to get their emergency food - enough to last their family for three meals a day for three days.

The scheme relies on donations from the public who feel they can afford an extra tin of beans or packet of rice when they go shopping.

A menu from the food box

Foodbanks are not for the homeless but for people who suddenly find themselves in financial crisis through bereavement, benefit delay, redundancy or illness. Truro Foodbank wants to support people in the city whose stark choice is often between feeding themselves or feeding their children.

While collecting the box, the people are also offered a hot drink and a chance to offload about their problems.

The scheme has already been running successfully in Wadebridge by the Christian Centre, and at Bude thanks to the the Christian Fellowship Elim Church.

At Bude, where the scheme has been in operation for three and a half years, the volunteers have found it has opened doors to enable them to help families further. The co-ordinator, Pat Knight, said one year they decided to keep an ear to the ground for any family who might deserve a box of luxury Christmas items.

Food box

They found a family where the father had been very ill and this had taken its toll on him, his wife and three children. They had told the children they would only get one small present each. Pat says:

"As a Christian I've learnt to wait rather than jumping in as something better can often be done. A local school had generous donations of toys every year from a woman in London.

"That year they had three bags of presents left over for precisely the right age group as this family. The family were overcome, it is not just the food it is the contact with people."