People in crisis will be offered a vital lifeline thanks to a new branch of a charity which offers emergency food supplies.

Foodbank, which aims to break the cycle of poverty, was launched by Vineyard Church in Crowthorne last Thursday in partnership with the very successful Bracknell Foodbank.

Jane Anscombe, Vineyard Centre manager, said: “There is a real need in Crowthorne and very much so in Sandhurst, which we are also serving.”

The charity offers a nutritionally balanced three-day parcel of food provided through community agencies which give a voucher to people in need.

The team at the church, which meets at Edgbarrow School every Sunday, has been working with other churches, including Kerith Church, which runs Bracknell Foodbank.

Mrs Anscombe explained: “A member of our church came up with the idea of using a shed in Crowthorne as a store house so approached our pastor. We decided to go for it, turning it from a derelict shed and putting up a new roof. We rented it from April and we have been working on it since then.”

While volunteers have worked to convert the shed, at 1 High Street, Crowthorne, others have shadowed Bracknell Foodbank workers, including Geoff and Pat Hallett.

Mrs Anscombe said: “We are working closely with them and spent several weeks shadowing them to learn how it is done.

“We serve people in crisis. One woman we saw with the Bracknell Foodbank, her husband had walked out on her and she had nothing and no food. We also helped somebody who had run out of money and had no food.

“We heard about it and our pastor’s wife thought it would a great thing for our church to get behind.”

Councillor Bob Wade, chairman of Crowthorne Parish Council, cut the ribbon at Thursday’s launch and the store shed opened for donations on Monday.

Volunteers created 47 crates of food when they collected donations from shoppers at Waitrose in Sandhurst on the first weekend in December.

The foodbank provides UHT milk, tinned soup, pasta sauces, tinned rice/sponge pudding, pasta/rice (500g), tea bags, tinned meat/fish, sugar (500g), breakfast cereal, fruit juice, baked beans, tomatoes, instant mash, tinned fruit, biscuits and cereal bars.

Donations can be dropped at 1 High Street, Crowthorne, on Mondays and Thursdays between midday and 2pm.

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