THE cost of living crisis is taking hold, and food shopping is one of the places where many people are feeling the strain.

Christmas often adds to this pressure, and so Crediton Foodbank will soon be giving out 60 Christmas hampers to clients, as it has done in previous years. 

This year though, in addition to the usual dried goods, hampers will contain plenty of fresh food - chicken, bacon, sausages, fresh veg, Christmas pudding - enough to make a complete Christmas meal for a family.

These can go in the slow cookers that the Foodbank recently distributed so that families can have a proper Christmas lunch.

There’ll also be mince pies, chocolates and other festive goodies.

Volunteers and trustees will be collecting fresh foods, packing parcels and giving them out on Friday, December 23, just in time for Christmas.

In October, UK food price inflation soared to a record annual rate of 11.6 per cent, and the price increase of fresh food was particularly high, up 13.3 per cent.

Foodbank trustee Elizabeth Lloyd said: “I’m pleased that the Foodbank can relieve a bit of the pressure on local families throughout the year, and especially at Christmas, which can be a challenging time.

"This will be a tough winter for many, and it’s never felt more important to reach out to our neighbours who might be struggling.

"Supporting and donating to the Foodbank is one way of doing this. At its heart, that’s what Christmas is really about – light in darkness, and hope coming into the world.”

The Foodbank is looking for donations to support its work this winter and into 2023.

Whether you feel you can donate some of the money you would usually spend on Christmas presents as a one-off donation, or set up a regular donation to help the Foodbank plan ahead, it is all appreciated.

You can do so by visiting the website: https://creditonfoodbank.org.uk/ - or by emailing: [email protected] .