'Local people are really struggling': Salisbury urged to help foodbanks

The city of Salisbury is being urged to unite in support of local people by supporting local foodbanks.

The call comes from Salisbury-based food poverty charity, Trussell, who tell us that struggling families face the toughest choices in winter.

Amy Wisenfeld from the charity said those worst-off have to choose between heating and eating over Christmas.

She said: "Christmas is often a time where we see people needing to rely on support from food banks and this is from a variety of reasons. Obviously within the winter period, the temperatures go down a lot and there's a lot of people who have to make those really difficult decisions between eating and heating."

Salisbury Foodbank Manager, Maria Stevenson, told Greatest Hits Radio is urging the local community to come together.

She said: "Local people are really struggling and they might be hiding that from the general public.

"Something I do with my neighbours is, I check in on the most vulnerable ones in the run up to Christmas and just check they're OK. Have they got everything sorted for Christmas?"

Maria added that the food parcels they can send out with our support could go to someone we know.

"We don't know whether these food parcels are going to go to our next door neighbour or our aunt who lives down the street or, you know, someone you went to school with."

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