A CHARITABLE food delivery service has been "inundated" with offers to help, saving the good cause from being overwhelmed with a "huge upsurge in demand".

The Food Train, which is rolling its service into the Wee County having proven successful in Stirling for years, has seen some hectic days in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak and ensuing lockdown.

And while many volunteers have been forced into self-isolation, a "huge wave of kindness" from locals means more deliveries are being made to vulnerable people than ever before.

Stuart Miller, regional manager for the Stirling and Clackmannanshire Food Train, said: "Food Train is a service that runs on the kindness of others.

"For eight and a half years we have relied on our brilliant team of volunteers to ensure that vulnerable older adults can get the food and groceries they need week in and week out.

"In the last few weeks, the threat of Covid-19 has meant that a large proportion of our volunteers have had to go into self-isolation due to being in a high-risk category or living with people who are, and have therefore taken the necessary action to keep themselves and their loved ones safe.

"With the huge upsurge in demand also brought about by the virus the service was in serious danger of being completely overwhelmed.

"However, the response from the general public with offers to help us has been truly remarkable."

Meanwhile, the charity is appealing for hand sanitizer and antibacterial wipes. Anyone able to help is asked to email fundraising@thefoodtrain.co.uk to assist.

Stuart added: "We have been inundated with offers of volunteering and thanks to this huge wave of kindness we are now making more deliveries to vulnerable older adults than ever before.

"Words cannot truly capture the gratitude I have for these people, but I would like to take this opportunity to give my huge thanks to all past, present and soon to be Food Train volunteers for your generosity.

"By giving your time and energy to Food Train you are supporting the older members of our community to remain safe and healthy and these efforts truly are heroic."

Anyone looking to help out can email stirling@thefoodtrain.co.uk to offer help.

Thank you for reading this story on our website. While we have your attention, we also have an important request to make of you.

In order for us to continue to provide trusted local news on this free-to-read site, we are asking you to also please purchase a copy of our newspaper every week. Trusted news has never been so important, and your support will ensure we can continue to serve Clackmannanshire.

With the coronavirus lockdown having a major impact on many of our local valued advertisers - and consequently the advertising that we receive - we are more reliant than ever on you to help us provide you with trusted news and information by buying a copy of our newspaper.

We will be out every Wednesday, even if you can’t be. You can have a replica e-edition of the Advertiser on your PC, phone or tablet ready to read whenever you want. Just click the "E-Edition" tab under the Advertiser masthead on the homepage of this website.

Thank you for your support

Iain Smith
Regional Content Manager
Alloa Advertiser