Foodbank reveals some customers are going without meals for up to FOUR DAYS before asking for help
It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas in Selkirk
But, with many household bills rising, more people are turning to their local food bank for help.
"We've had people come in the doors who haven't eaten for three and four days," volunteer co-ordinator Peter Birney (pictured above) told Greatest Hits Radio.
"I think the energy crisis is certainly having a big effect - they don't even have to be out of work."
Mr Birney, who helps make-up emergency food parcels, revealed December is traditionally their busiest time of year:
"The trend is definitely going up," he added. "We are doing double what we did five years ago.
"Back then, we saw a lot of single males or young mothers. We're now finding we're getting a lot more people in the 40 age group, married with teenage children, who are obviously feeling the pinch."
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Selection boxes and Christmas puddings sit alongside nappies and cereal boxes stacked high on the shelves of the foodbank's premises in Market Place.
But there's a worry some people may be going without - because they're too ashamed to ask for help.
"One age group we're not getting very many of are elderly people," Mr Birney continued. "They're either doing without food, or they're doing without heat. And I think it's just the age the elderly were brought up in - they wouldn't accept charity."
But he added: "It's not a charity, it's there to help people."
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The foodbank at 35 Market Place, Selkirk, is open Monday to Saturday, from 10am to midday.
Donations can also be handed in to the neighbouring Post Office, the Co-op, or Scott's Selkirk during their normal opening hours.
Anyone wishing to volunteer to do deliveries or help in store should call 07548627444.
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