Carlisle Foodbank hands out Christmas hampers

The hampers handed out by Carlisle Foodbank are given a festive theme

Christmas hampers are being handed out in Cumbria in a bid to boost the festive season for families whose children receive free school meals.

Carlisle Foodbank approached all local schools to find out who was eligible.

As well as the usual food supplies they contain items with a Christmas theme to make things more special for children.

It said that with many families facing higher bills and a drop in wages, the festive season just accentuated an ongoing problem.

Festivities were "all about feasting", it added, and if there was no food there was no feast.

'Very large queues'

Stephanie Humes, a volunteer at the charity, said it was the first time they had targeted those on free school meals, and it was very popular.

"Last week alone 211 hampers were handed out", she said.

"There have been very large queues [so] we're now taking something of a staggered approach to serving people the food parcels rather than them all coming at once to avoid delays."

There have been donations of items such as selection boxes and advent calendars

She added: "We've had so many messages from people saying how grateful they are.

"We've had people at the door in tears, everyone is just so, so grateful that we are able to give this extra help this year.

"These are all made up from the donations that we receive - we have a lot of groups and people in the community that make effort to help us.

"All these treats go towards helping our goal of providing families with food."