KIND-HEARTED readers are being called upon to make sure no child goes hungry this Christmas.
The Citizen has linked up with the Gloucester Foodbank to launch our Feed a Family campaign.
We are being asked to spare just £1.50 to help feed a family of four for three days.
Everyone is busy saving ahead of the festive season but Foodbank manager Anneliese Sterry has made an appeal for people to spare small change to think of those less fortunate than themselves.
She said: "A couple of weeks back we had one man come to us who hadn't eaten properly for two weeks.
"We get a wide range of people come to us, from single people who have been made homeless, to families where the parents have been made redundant from well paid jobs.
"If people can find £1.50 to donate it would help us so much and less people would be hungry in Gloucester."
The Foodbank has provided parcels of groceries to many in need. It dishes out around 1.7tonnes of food every single month.
This year, it helped 2,400 people in the city including 855 children under the age of 16.
Since opening in 2005, the Foodbank has provided 15,000 people, including 6,000 children with emergency food.
The service works primarily on a referral basis, with 40 agencies across the city handing out tokens to those in need.
However, people who are struggling financially can contact the Foodbank, in Great Western Road, directly too.
"People can come to us themselves," said Anneliese, who has been at the Foodbank for seven and a half years.
"More people than you think struggle with food. It is not uncommon to hear from people, families, who aren't eating properly."
The £1.50 donation being asked for goes towards covering the running costs of the volunteer-run group, which costs £1,400-month to run.
The food offered as part of a parcel for a family of four is actually worth around £40.
To find out how to help visit: Gloucester.foodbank.org WHAT'S IN A FOODBANK PARCEL: For family with two/three children: Cereal x 1 large box Vegetables x 3 Tinned potato or mash 1 packet Meat or veg option x 1 pie Ready meal x 3 Fish x 3 Fruit x 2 Rice pudding x 2 Sponge pudding x 1 Custard x 1 Tea/coffee 80 bags/1 jar Squash x 1 bottle Soup x 5 Tomatoes x 3 Dried spaghetti x 500g Beans x 3 Milk UHT/powder 2 cartons Pasta x 1kg Rice x 1kg Noodles x 4 packets Biscuits x 1 large packet Sugar x 500g Extras when available: Snacks/crackers x 2 packets Sauces x 2 jars Chocolate x 1 Jam x 1