KENDAL'S food bank has seen a 'massive' increase in support since The Westmorland Gazette launched its Support The Food Banks campaign.

Linda Sutherland, manager of The King's Food Bank, believes there has been a 50 per cent increase in food donations.

"We really appreciate it," she said. "Our donation points have been overflowing. Normally we empty them just once a week but we've had to go round extra times.

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"It's been a blessing to lots of our clients."

She said that the appeal had also brought in extra financial donations which she said was useful because the staple items that go in every box often ran low.

Four weeks ago, the Gazette launched its campaign encouraging people to donate to food banks following news from The King's Food Bank that referrals had soared.

Based at the Shakespeare Centre, when the campaign was launched the food bank had provided 6,909 meals and received 387 referrals - an increase of 40 per cent on last year.

The plea for more donations came following an expectation that demand would continue to rise and stock would decrease as children broke up for the summer holidays.

"People have just been so generous," Mrs Sutherland said. "And I think it's just that the problem has been brought to the fore again and a lot of people didn't think of it being that vital in this area."

Mrs Sutherland believes that the rise in referrals can be partly explained by changes to the state benefits system, which could lead to people having a six-week break between payments.

And although she said that the support had been 'overwhelming' they were still in need of continued support from the community and she had noticed donations slowing down.

"Especially with school holidays coming up we do tend to see an increase [in food bank usage] in school holidays so we can expect it," she said. "On the downside we wish we didn't have to be here but actually we're pleased that we can be here. What would people do otherwise?"