Churches in the Silksworth area have joined together to open a new food bank to support the most vulnerable members of the local community.

Silksworth Churches Together consists of New Silksworth Independent Methodist Church, New Silksworth Methodist Church, St Leonard’s Roman Catholic Church, St Matthew’s Parish Church and St Wilfrid’s Church Doxford. The Project Coordinator Rev David Tolhurst and volunteers and staff from Morrisons Doxford Park were joined by Bridget to launch the project.

The project is using temporary storage facilities in a local church but has a vision of expanding beyond the provision of emergency food to providing support to those in crisis through debt counselling, legal advice and life skills support.

Donations can be made at any of the churches listed above, Morrisons Doxford Park and Benedict Biscop Academy. If you wish to become a collection point please contact Reverend Tolhurst on 0191 523 9932.

Reverend David Tolhurst, vicar at St Matthew’s and Project Coordinator said:

“There is an increasing need for emergency food support in our area, Silksworth Food Bank will join with other established church and community projects which are complementing the support provided through the statutory authorities across the city. This project will give the people of the Silksworth area a local centre rather than having to travel into the city centre.”

“We are grateful to Morrisons for their support in this project and ask the local community to support us as we help one another. Ideally we would like this to be a short-lived project as we support people and help them move out of poverty but sadly the need for this kind of support is steadily growing.”

Bridget Phillipson MP said:

“Foodbanks are now an unfortunate weekly reality for too many in our community.

“People who are both in and out of work are finding themselves in the same line waiting for their weekly food parcel. It’s not right and the government need to take action and tackle the underlying reasons for the growth in demand for food banks.

“The volunteers at the Silksworth Food Bank are supporting the local community during these difficult times and I would encourage as many local people as possible to support them in their work.”

Caption: Bridget Phillipson MP with Rev David Tolhurst, Phil Gledhill (Morrisons Doxford store manager), volunteers from the project and Morrisons staff.