A food bank which serves large parts of the city has said it had to turn people away after its stocks hit a record low.

The S12 Community Pantry on Wickfield Grove, which serves people in the S12, S13 and S20 postcodes has had to turn people away that were requesting food parcels.

The founders of the food bank first posted their concerns on Facebook community groups on the afternoon of Sunday 21 April, pleading for support from the public due to the fact that they have “given out five times the usual amount of parcels”.

Jayne Mason, co-founder of S12 Community Pantry, said: “Over the past few months, we have just had more and more people coming for help.

“We have always managed to scrape by before, but we are turning away more people than we ever have.”

By Wednesday afternoon, they had to post another plea as the demand was intensifying, with the stock still not growing.

After being open for a year and eight months of running as a food bank, the pantry has found itself in the most difficult period that it has ever faced.

With more and more people coming through their doors as the weeks go by, the pantry is now officially down to its final parcel.

The S12 Community Pantry rely on donations and referrals from agencies to survive.

Previously, when stock had ran low, the appeals have usually worked, but Jayne Mason said that this time, they have had “nothing”.

“We have gone from a couple of parcels a month, to 4-5 parcels per week, it’s never-ending. We simply just do not have enough,” said Jayne.

“We are completely self funded and on our own out here, we can only rely on generosity.”

Most food banks have donation baskets in supermarkets and are often partnered with particular stores so they can be supported in times like these.

“Unfortunately for us, most supermarkets are already supporting charities that have been supplying food for longer. As a result, we do not get any form of help from anyone else.

“We don’t charge for our food, but we are at the point now where we don’t know where else we can get help.”

As a small and independent charity, the staff at S12 Community Pantry can only hope for donations.

Anyone who can help the cause, please do get in contact with S12 Community Pantry on Facebook. https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100089981987160