A food bank is to open in Banbury to deal with a rise in families living on the breadline.

The Peoples Church aims to start distributing food from the end of next month.

Project manager Sarah Williams said: “The increase in demand has been quite noticeable and is going to get worse.

“A lot of people are skipping on their food. A lot have not been eating properly because they are trying to keep up with demands of paying their bills.

“It could happen to anyone of us. One in five people are living below the poverty line in the UK and this is going to increase to one in four.”

She said her work with families through the Christians Against Poverty charity (Cap) had brought home the scale of the problem in the town.

The service, which is now appealing for donations, will run from the Horse Fair church on Tuesdays and Fridays from 10am to noon.

Workers such as doctors, social workers, health visitors and family centres will give food bank vouchers for food packs, to include items like soup and cereals.

Recipe cards will also be provided for households to manage their packs, to last three days.

Deddington resident Karon Rolfe knows all too well the good work the food bank will do.

After her marriage broke down she battled depression and left her primary school job in 2009 with three children.

Now back in employment working as a debt adviser for Cap, she found herself in a poverty trap of being out of work and waiting for benefit payments to come through.

She said: “The church came out and brought me meals, which I was really gobsmacked about.

“It is a very fine line between coping financially and being in a mess.”

The project has been set up with help from the Trussell Trust and funding from Cherwell District Council, Banbury Town Council and Charter Housing Association.

Email info@banbury.foodbank.org.uk or call 01295 661301