Scarborough foodbank: 'There are times when we've been empty'
The Rainbow Centre says there's been a big demand
A volunteer at a foodbank in Scarborough says there have been times where they have had nothing to give out because of demand.
The Rainbow Centre aims to try and help those who are struggling.
It is on top of the next £300 cost of living payment to help rising costs at the end of next month for those on certain benefits.
Paul Creelman is a client support worker and volunteer at the charity in the town. He said: "I've worked here now as a volunteer just short of 11 years, so I've seen a lot of changes over the years. I've noticed recently that we are getting I would think more homeless people coming in, quite a lot of vulnerable people and people just very, very short of cash in particular families.
"It's sad to see. There's some very nice and genuine people who are trying their very, very best. We have people come here who are working, they might be on a very, very small wage or they might have to work a month in hand, so you've got three or four weeks before you get any money, you've got two or three mouths to feed at home and you've got gas and electricity to buy and all that kind of stuff.
"At all the big supermarkets that I go around and collect from, I've noticed that the cases that you would normally put an extra tin of beans in for The Rainbow Centre, they're very much depleted now. We would fill the van up when we first started but I understand that people don't have the money to donate what they do.
"There's been a few times over the last six to seven months when we've actually gone right down and we've had nothing. There's been no food here at all. We've had to buy it in so we heavily rely on donations and a big thank you to everybody who does donate to us.
"The payment's going to help but I'm very mindful now that we're heading towards winter. It's very different The Rainbow Centre in the winter because people come in for what's called NYLAF vouchers. We try and help them with their gas, electricity, give them food vouchers if they have special dietry requirements. There's a lot of homeless people who would come down to use the facilities and stay here from when we open to when we close."