A CLACKS foodbank is launching an urgent appeal for donations as they continued to navigate a harsh winter.

The Gate, based at the old church on Ludgate, reported a successful December but are facing a tough January.

The charity faces its busiest times during winter, receiving an influx of families needing food parcels and are urging to the Wee County to help them help others.

Jay-Anne McLaughlin, foodbank development coordinator for The Gate, told the Advertiser winter doesn’t get any easier once Christmas is over.

“We’re quite low at the moment,” Jay-Anne said. “We had a really good response from the appeal over Christmas.

“That went really well and we managed to help a lot of families during Christmas but we’re struggling a bit after the festive season now.

“Families will have spent a bit of money for Christmas and are now feeling it in January so we’re asking for people to give us donations if they’re able to.

“December and January are our busiest teams of the year, a really busy December has left our January stocks quite low.”

The Gate handed out a total of 265 food parcels throughout December alone, which will have helped families manage their money ahead of Christmas.

“January is more difficult for us,” Jay-Anne added. “In December, a lot of people will donate nice Christmas things – selection boxes, chocolates, stuff like that.

“That was brilliant, we were able to provide families with nice things in their food parcels for Christmas, which was really nice.

“A lot of people in January are struggling to buy food because they’ve used up their money for Christmas so our referrals are quite high.”

People can hand in donations directly to The Gate at their Ludgate premises between the hours of 10am-4pm Monday to Friday.

There are also established donation pick up points at Asda in Alloa, Morrisons in Alloa, Lidl and Aldi but not the Tesco.

Jay-Anne continued: “We always need cereal and tinned meats and also toiletries and cleaning items, basic hygiene items.

“We always try to give people toiletries when they come in, so people will always get toothpaste and toilet rolls and soap when they come to us.”

A full list of essential items for donation can be found on The Gate Charity Facebook page.