22 June 2012 Last updated at 08:22 ET

'More demand' for food banks in Lincolnshire

Grantham Foodbank sorts food into shopping bags so clients are not embarrassed

People who run food banks in Lincolnshire say increasing numbers of people are relying on them to survive.

Grantham Foodbank has been visited by more than 1,000 people in the 10 months since opening.

The minister of a Spalding church, where another food bank is based, said benefit cuts have caused more people to turn to them for help.

Food bank organisers say people are falling into crisis after losing work due to the economic downturn.

Brian Hanbury, project co-ordinator at Grantham Foodbank, said: "People are falling in crisis, they come through the door, we support them for a short period of time and help them to move on. I see it as a safety net that's been established."

'All walks of life'

Chas Sandhu, minister of the Lighthouse Church in Spalding, where there is a food bank, said: "Demand on us is quite high over the last few months, we've served over 140 people, which is quite an increase from last year when we started in April.

"We find that more and more people are finding it difficult to manage at this time, in the state of the nation, and also because of the benefit cuts.

"It's all walks of life really."

There are plans to set up a new food bank in Stamford to meet demand.

One person who has used Grantham Foodbank, a plumber called Wayne, said he was "very embarrassed" when he first went.

"I just found the whole experience to start with really scary, but after a quick conversation with Brian, who runs the place, everything was fine," he said.

Wayne used to have his own business but lost a tender to a council, could not find work elsewhere, then suffered from a bad back.

He has four children and said not being able to buy food for them was "the worst thing in the world".

"It was a toss-up between paying the mortgage and the electric and gas, or actually feeding the children," he said.