NEWPORT Foodbank has made a heartfelt appeal for donations this weekend ahead of a busy Christmas period for the charity.

The foodbank, which has fed more than 1,300 city residents in the past five months - including close to 500 children - will be collecting donations from the Tesco in Spytty and the store in Cardiff Road, as part of a national drive in which all UK Tesco stores are involved.

Jon Slocombe, the manager of Newport Foodbank, said the number of people in need is up on this time last year.

"Everybody wants to enjoy Christmas and their time together with their families," he said. "However, for some families, it’s so much pressure.

“To get their kids presents, they’ve to sacrifice other things.

“None of us are ever far from poverty.

"If the breadwinner in a house loses their income, it’s a crisis.”

The foodbank, which operates three sites throughout the city, works with more than 60 referral agencies, and from April 2015 to April 2016 they fed 2,423 people, of which 952 were children.

Mr Slocombe added: “More people need food – we’re giving out more food now than we did this time last year.

“It’s a trend that seems to be in the increase, which means there are more people on the poverty line.

“From April 2016 to Sept 2016, we've already fed 1,305 people, of which 479 are children.

“We will have teams of volunteers in both Tesco stores this weekend and they’ll be there 9am to 5pm.

“In total, we’ve more than 30 volunteers, including the ones who work at the warehouse and as part of the delivery team.

"But we need food donations 12 months of the year, not just Christmas."

There is currently a shortage of long life milk and long life juices. Biscuits, especially chocolate ones, would also be welcomed.

Last year, from April 2015 to April 2016, the foodbank received 19,723 tonnes of food and distributed 20,660 tonnes.

Over 90 per cent of the food distributed by foodbanks in The Trussell Trust network, including Newport’s, is donated by the public.

“There are lots of way you can get involved,” Mr Slocombe said. “A lot of schools in the city help us and offices are collecting food for us as well.

“Some people are doing reverse advent calendars. This means that instead of taking, every day they’ll be collecting something for us, such as a tin or a can, and then bring it to us at the end of the month.

“On Tuesday, the Celtic Manor is also hosting a Volunteer Space event where we’ll be collecting food.

“A lot of people contribute, it’s quite humbling.”

Newport Foodbank has three distribution centres: Christchurch Centre, on Malpas Road; Duffryn Community Centre, in Duffryn; and the Old Post Office, on Bridge Street

To find out more about Newport’s foodbank, visit newport.foodbank.org.uk