A NORTH East foodbank is preparing for what it expects to be its busiest ever winter.

Billingham and Stockton Foodbank operates from four locations across the Stockton borough, all of which are in the top ten per cent of the UK’s most deprived communities, and supported over 7,700 local people during its last financial year.

The foodbank has been given a grant of £3,000 grant from Newcastle Building Society.

The grant is being used to help the charity meet its rising food buying and storage costs, as well as to fund the other services it offers to people in need in surrounding communities.

Bev Burton, finance manager at the foodbank, said: “We’re always really busy, but with the combination of factors like the end of the furlough scheme, the reduction of Universal Credit payments back to pre-pandemic levels and higher energy costs, we think we’re in for a very challenging period and what’s likely to be our busiest ever winter.

“We try to take a longer-term approach than simply providing our service users with a three-day food parcel, and we find that different people need our help for different lengths of time.

“There are often many different issues which are contributing to the problems they’re facing, and taking a holistic approach gives us the best chance for finding positive ways forward for them.

“It takes a lot to run a charity like ours and there are always a range of different costs to meet in providing the services that we offer, so having Newcastle Building Society’s generous support means we can direct resources towards other priorities and help as many people as possible.”