Cheltenham Foodbank says busy period will continue in 2024
The charity says December was the busiest month it's ever seen
Cheltenham foodbank says it saw an increase in reliance on its services throughout 2023.
Operations Manager, Sarah Baker, said each month reliance grew by 40% on the previous year's figures.
With the energy price cap increasing again this month, the charity thinks more people will need to use its service.
Sarah Baker said: "We've seen a huge amount of demand, Christmas was certainly the busiest month we've ever seen.
"Month on month we saw a 40% increase throughout the year in comparison to previous years.
"There's a real sense of weariness, there's only so long you can manage with not very much.
"Going into another year with very little signs of anything changing or getting better is making things a lot harder for people.
"The increases in energy prices have had a direct impact on us, we now regularly have to provide cold food parcels for people who have no heating or any money on their pre-payment meters."
The Foodbank is also working with the Fuel Bank Foundation to provide vouchers which help to reduce the burden of energy costs on families.
Sarah Baker said: "There's a huge amount of need, people just aren't able to meet the costs needed to heat their properties."