A LARGS food larder is seeing a significant surge in customers but has warned that donations have dropped significantly.

Volunteer Wendy Low Thomson helps run the independently run Largs Food Bank and associated larder of the Largs Community Church, and told the News that donations have significantly dropped and it continues to prove a challenge.

The Largs Community Church operation is open on Thursdays from 11.30am till 4.30pm.

Wendy said: "We have noticed a big uptake in the larder which opened earlier this year. A lot more older people are willing to pay £4 a week to use the larder and word is spreading among the elderly community.

"There is usually a stigma attached with using a foodbank which you can understand but we are now seeing a lot more older people using the larder and I think the fact that they don't want to accept anything for free but they are willing to contribute something makes it easier for them."

Wendy said that with the controversial axing of the winter fuel payments for pensioners, she is concerned that the rise will continue over the coming months.

Wendy has seen a surge in Largs larder use at the community churchWendy has seen a surge in Largs larder use at the community church (Image: Largs Foodbank)

She said: "We are going to be putting up posters in sheltered housing and at Age Concern so we have a higher profile and people know where they can find us.

"I don't know if enough people realise that we also provide a larder service and it is there for anyone who can pay."

Wendy pointed out that donations in general are down, but she is very grateful to local schools for their kindness during their recent harvest events.

She said: "In general, the foodbank is still busy but we are definitely not getting anywhere near the amount of donations that we used to.

"People are more self conscious about their finances and we totally understand that, so we are also looking at set up a direct debit for people.

Donations from Largs Primary SchoolDonations from Largs Primary School (Image: Largs Foodbank)

"We buy shopping in every week and have a £1,000 shopping bill a month. We are very thankful to the Kelburn Windfarm giving us a grant in their last round of funding and that money has kept us going for a while."

A group of local fitness enthusiasts are participating in a fun triathlon at Largs Vikingar on Saturday, November 16.

They will swim, cycle and run in order to raise much needed funds for Largs Food Bank. A total of £577 has been raised so far for the challenge, details of which can be found at http://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/largs-foodbank.

The larder operation and foodbank in Largs Community Church is different to the Largs Food Hub which is open twice a week at Largs Library. 

The drop-in opening hours for the Largs Food Hub are every Tuesday from 2.30pm to 5.30pm and Fridays from 10.30am to 12.30pm. For more details of the Largs Food Hub, go to https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61556343519063.

The direct debit for setting up a regular payment to the foodbank is via here: Bank of Scotland Largs Foodbank: Sort Account No: 24270362 No: 80-22-60