A NEW food bank, set up to help disadvantaged families in the north of the district, officially opened its doors yesterday.

The Bradford North Foodbank will be based at different venues on different days, meaning its reach is spread as far as possible. It was set up specifically for families in the BD2, BD9, BD10, BD17 and BD18 postcodes, as well as in Calverley village.

It is the combination of the work of 13 local churches, with help from the Trussel Trust and the Pears Foundation.

Last year, increased demand for foodbanks throughout the district meant the Bradford Central Foodbank was no longer able to provide foods to people from certain postcode areas due to overly stretched resources.

The food is collected and stores at a unit at Bradford Business Park, and then distributed at different churches. On Mondays, the foodbank will operate from the Church on the Way, Bradford Road, Five Lane Ends. On Thursdays it will be based at St Luke's Church, Harrogate Road, Eccleshill.

Plans are also in place for the foodbank to operate regularly in Shipley Baptist Church, which could be opened by March.

People are referred to the foodbank by doctors, health visitors, social workers, Citizens Advice Bureau staff, welfare officers, the police and probation officers, who identify people "in crisis" and issue them with a foodbank voucher. These vouchers are then exchanged for food and other essentials.

The local community has already shown huge support for the trust - shortly before Christmas customers at the Greengates branch of Sainsburys donated 1,189kg of food.

A further 3.5 tonnes of food and essentials were collected through harvest events at schools in Shipley, Calverley, Fagley, Idle, Menston and Chellow Heights, as well as churches across the area.

Donations of dried skimmed milk powder, tinned carrots, tinned sweetcorn, tinned potatoes, as well as soap, nappies and other toiletries are currently required.

Heather Ayrton, team leader at the foodbank, said: "The Bradford Central food bank was struggling to cope with all their referrals and the amount of space they had.

"We have been collecting food since September, and officially opened for referrals yesterday.

"We've had a lot of support and our warehouse is currently well stocked, but as the weeks go on the supplies will diminish, so we have to keep it stocked."

The Church on the Way foodbank opens on Mondays from 1pm to 3.30pm, and the St Luke's Foodbank opens on Thursdays from 11am to 1.30pm.

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