Woking Foodbank is asking residents for donations to help those in need as Christmas approaches.

“I would say demand is steady compared to this time last year,” said project co-ordinator Alison Buckland. “We would, though, like to see more Christmas donations.

“We are detailing what extra support we will be giving to foodbank visitors this December and plan to give bags of Christmas-specific items with our usual supply of food and essential toiletries, alongside a supermarket gift card for fresh items.  

“Our focus remains the same during the Christmas period and we will only be supporting those people referred to us via frontline professionals who have deemed a need for emergency support.

“Unfortunately our new van was vandalised and broken into a few weeks ago and is now at the garage for the repair of a fault being investigated through the vehicle’s network. So it looks like we will not have the van to help us cope with the busiest season of the year.  

“A few weeks ago we had a volunteer morning to mark ten years of Woking Foodbank. We thanked the 14 volunteers who have been with us since 2014 and had time together thinking of the future.

“We will be moving, alongside The Lighthouse, to temporary premises while the redevelopment of the High Street is happening. But there will be no break in our service and we will continue to serve the public for the duration in the town centre and our other locations.

“We have provided almost 2,300 food parcels so far this year.”

Alison has listed the items that the foodbank requests by Monday (December 11) for Christmas distribution: boxes or tins of biscuits, Christmas-themed cakes, Christmas puddings, mince pies, hot chocolate, biscuits for cheese, crisps and savoury snacks, Christmas sweets and chocolate treats for children, selection boxes, Christmas chocolate boxes (for example Quality Street), large long-life sponge puddings and long-life custard.