NORTH Ayrshire Foodbank is hoping the Garnock Valley will get behind it this weekend.

With the St Inans Fete taking place in Beith on Saturday, June 10, the food bank is asking those in attendance to help support people in crisis.

It is pleading with those coming to the Beith Community Centre to do so by donating food items to the charity.

In the midst of a cost-of-living crisis, more and more people are being referred to the food bank - which says it needs more stock to meet demand for emergency food.

North Ayrshire Foodbank provides three days’ emergency food to people in crisis locally.

More than 90 per cent of the food given out by food banks is donated by the public and with the food bank busier than ever, the charity is asking people to give generously.

Craig Crosthwaite, North Ayrshire Foodbank manager, said: “More and more people are being referred to the food bank because they don’t have enough money coming in to cover essential living costs and we really need local people to give what they can.

“Rising prices, static incomes and high unemployment are having a real impact on people on the breadline and we’re seeing more people turning to the food bank for help.

"We want to make sure that no-one in North Ayrshire is forced to go hungry but to do this we’re urgently asking for help.”

North Ayrshire Foodbank will be collecting at the St Inans Fete from 1pm until 4pm.

Beith Community Association, which is hosting the event, asks that the community rally round and help the much-needed service.

A representative from the association commented: "We know times are tough but every little helps, by pulling together we reduce the number of people going hungry."

North Ayrshire Foodbank's hub is located in Ardrossan in the Church of the Nazerene, on Glasgow Street.

Last year it collected 52,959.34kg of food from the public and provided emergency food to 5,558 people - of which 1,414 were children.

For more information, visit northayrshire.foodbank.org.uk/.