Ramsey food bank opens 'to help those who cannot get to Douglas'

The foodbank's parcels include items such as fruit juice, pasta, rice and tinned meat and fish

A food bank has opened in the north of the Isle of Man to help "those who cannot afford the bus fare to Douglas for a parcel", a charity has said.

Isle of Man Foodbank said the drop-in centre at Ramsey's Church on the Rock will also offer clients debt advice.

The charity, founded in 2007, has previously delivered items and has seen an increase in demand in recent years.

Co-ordinator Neal Mellon said they now supplied over six times more parcels than they did a decade ago.

He said they had delivered 125 parcels in their first year, but expected demand to "exceed 800" by the end of 2017.

The charity relies on donations of non-perishable foods to make up the parcels

Isle of Man Foodbank is the only registered charity dedicated to distributing food on the island, though other organisations, such as churches, also operate a service.

In the past, access to the service was through a referral from the homeless charity Housing Matters, but Mr Mellon said the new centre will mean appointments are no longer needed.

"We want to make it as easy as possible to get the help they need [so] no one will go without," he said.

Charity director Jane Foxon said while the service had often helped get people "through a financial blip, we are also seeing pockets of real deprivation around the Isle of Man".

A spokesman for The Trussell Trust, which runs food banks in the UK, said it was also seeing "soaring food insecurity".

He added that it was "shocking to hear that, even outside of the Trussell Trust's network, projects to alleviate poverty are seeing record demand".