A PLEA has gone out for support for a new community foodbank in Okehampton after the foodbank run through the Okehampton Baptist Church shut down this week.

The deacons of the baptist church said they had closed the foodbank with “a heavy heart” after a sharp fall-off in donations due to the cost of living crisis and what it described as “some challenging compliance issues”.

The foodbank had been run by one paid employee with help from volunteers, open for two hours a week from a building beside the baptist church.

The baptist church has asked Okehampton Community Kitchen, which already feeds people in the town, to set up as replacement Okehampton Community Foodbank, which opens at 3 East Street on July 12.

It is will be open two hours a day, seven days a week. Both volunteers and food are needed.

Rev Maggy Whitehouse, as one of the founders of the new foodbank, has written to local churches and other community groups asking for help, saying: “If you are interesting in helping, please take this letter to your groups and committees and work out what realistically and practically you can do. We need your help and we deeply appreciate your help.”

Co-founder Rebecca Green, who runs Okehampton Community Kitchen, said: ‘The only people who matters are the people who need the food. We are stepping in because we were asked to by the trustees of the baptist church. It is a community challenge, we have got two weeks to set up and we need donations of food and we need volunteers.”

It is understood that a number of churches in the town are already on board with the project.

The deacons of Okehampton Baptist Church said: “The foodbank of Okehampton Baptist Church has been running for many years and has been a huge blessing to people locally. It is therefore, with a heavy heart that the Okehampton Baptist Church Foodbank trustees have taken the decision to close the foodbank situated at 19 Fore Street.

“Foodbank donations have significantly reduced due, in part, to the cost-of-living crisis. Alongside this we have been unable to overcome some challenging compliance issues.

“As a small church of volunteers we see no sustainable way forward for our foodbank in its current form. We are now working with Okehampton Community Kitchen, which is located at 3 East Street, to ensure that the remaining resources from the Okehampton Baptist Church foodbank go towards supporting our local community.”

If you can help with donations of food or volunteer time, email [email protected]. A crowdfunder has also been set up.

Meanwhile, former Okehampton Foodbank coordinator Malcolm Hamilton said he would continue to operate his foodbank independently of Okehampton Baptist Church.

He released a statement saying: “The Baptist church has recently supported the foodbank by bookkeeping and providing shop premises. However, new baptist trustees feel it is time for a change and wish to relinquish their support. So, foodbank coordinator Malcom Hamilton, together with its committee and 14 volunteers will soon be operating Okehampton Foodbank independently.

“The object of our foodbank is to assist those in need within the Okehampton area by providing healthy food. Malcolm and his team are keen to keep the Okehampton Foodbank running so it can continue to provide the same valuable service of feeding those in our community who are experiencing food poverty.”