CHURCH leaders in Wallingford are planning a new food bank due to the “urgent” need in the town.

The Churches Together Wallingford group had planned to run a facility from the disused evangelical church in Wigod Way that will be converted to a youth centre.

But the 13 churches in the town say they can not wait the time it will take to convert the building, because people need urgent help now.

As a result, a deal has been agreed to share the town council-owned hut at Bullcroft Park, which is used by the Citizens’ Advice Bureau.

Neville Burt, a spokesman for Churches Together Wallingford, said he and his wife Jean would run the foodbank and he hoped the new service would be running from early December.

He added: “Some churches have already been providing food parcels for people in their congregations, so we realised we couldn’t wait for the youth centre to open before we launched the foodbank.

“Some people find themselves in a desperate situations through divorce, losing their job or other circumstances and it takes time for the social security system to provide for them.

“The foodbank can help people who find themselves in desperate circumstances. Last Christmas we discovered a lady and her two children in Wallingford living in a caravan and cooking outside in the snow.

“We will provide vouchers to the county council, churches and organisations like Citizens’ Advice Bureau and people will be able to bring their vouchers to the office to claim food parcels.

"The CAB has a kitchen which it is not using at the moment and we will be able to store food there and hopefully use one of their offices as well on days when they are not using it.

“We would encourage people in church to buy a bit of extra shopping, maybe some tins or packets of cereal, which could then be donated to the foodbank.

“We have already had a donation of some jars of honey from Rowse Honey, which is based in the town.”

Mr Burt said a similar foodbank running in Didcot for the past three years now hands out more than 20 parcels a month.

Wallingford town councillor Lynda Atkins said: “The town council is delighted to support this. Wallingford is quite prosperous but the recession is biting hard here like anyone else and there are people in real need.

“It is up to the churches when they launch this scheme but we are glad to offer these premises for such an important project.”

Judith Abela, manager of Didcot and Wallingford CABs, said: “This is a natural partnership for us because we will have lots of clients who will benefit from the scheme.

“Deprivation is more hidden in Wallingford than it is in some parts of the country but the recession is bringing things to a head.

“The foodbank has been incredibly successful in Didcot and the sooner it opens in Wallingford the better.”