NORTH Ayrshire Foodbank this week issued an urgent plea for donations.

Co-ordinator Craig Crosthwaite revealed the Foodbank was facing a shortage of many main items.

And with more people than ever relying on the service, he urged the public to help.

His plea comes just weeks after the Foodbank faced a crisis when Asda announced they would remove their static collection point in Ardrossan, which provided 12 per cent of donations in North Ayrshire.

The store quickly reversed their decision after a public backlash. And other stores came forward offering help.

Craig said: “Despite the hard work of so many, demand has been high and we currently face shortages in many of the main items - plain bolognaise sauce, tinned corn/carrots, tinned stew, mince or chicken in sauce, tinned rice pudding and custard, sugar, tea, coffee, UHT Whole Milk, long life fruit juice and breakfast cereal.

“We thank everybody for their ongoing support and kindness with St Luke’s Primary School demonstrating that through their latest staff and pupil collection event with 300 hundred items donated. Every can helps us to help those in need.”

MSP Kenny Gibson backed the Foodbank’s plea, adding: “In these challenging times of austerity and cuts to social security for hundreds of thousands of vulnerable people in our communities, the work of North Ayrshire Foodbank is invaluable.

“Ensuring the Foodbank has adequate supplies to give out at this time are essential and I would urge people to donate what they can, particularly easily preserved staples such as tinned foods and pasta, rice, cereal and the like.

“The people of North Ayrshire have shown tremendous support for the Foodbank but we need that to continue.”

Craig once again thanked the public and local businesses for their support.

He said: “It is with great gladness and appreciation that I have received confirmation from Asda Ardrossan that the drop-bin for shoppers donations has been confirmed as restored.

“Great news indeed as this store’s shoppers have been great supporters and we have sadly missed their contributions.

“The loss of even one source of donations can impact upon our capacity to service the daily requests we receive from those referred to us by the beneficiaries support services.

“We are also delighted to have it confirmed that Tesco Saltcoats is joining their colleagues from Kilbirnie and Irvine by also having a drop-bin placed at their store.

“These passive collection points, as I call them, are very popular with shoppers who support us as they know where they can drop donations off locally without having to come to Ardrossan or find one of our partner agencies.

“The Morrisons Largs store is a case in point as the flow of donations have been beyond our expectations demonstrating that the desire to address this food crisis issue is strong across all of our communities.

“We look forward to hearing from Asda Irvine who are also arranging a drop-bin placement.”

For more information on the Foodbank or to find out where you can donate, visit their Facebook page at facebook.com/northayrshirefoodbank or visit northayrshire.foodbank.org.uk where a full list of donation points, an option to donate and how you can sign up as a volunteer.