MORE than 1.5 tons of food are needed for a new food bank set to open in the Arnold area next month.
Helen Lloyd, 46, and her husband Mark, 41, of Arnside Road, Bestwood, have been working towards opening it for more than a year.
Mrs Lloyd said she wanted to open the food bank at Daybrook Baptist Church, Mansfield Road, by December 17.
Six churches in Arnold have pledged support and about 1.5 tons of tins have already been collected. But to open the food bank at least three tons are needed, the amount recommended by the Trussell Trust, an organisation that tackles poverty.
"When I first decided to get a food bank up and running in the summer of 2011, there wasn't one registered for Nottingham. Now there are eight, which is absolutely fantastic.
"It's been a lot of work getting everything set up and getting people together.
"This has been a good example of what the churches can achieve when they work together."
Businesses which offered to collect food include Sally's Charity Shop in Front Street, Arnold, which raises money for the Salvation Army.
Shop manager Margaret McNiffe said they had been collecting tins for about a month.
"The response has been quite good," she added. "Some people have come in especially to donate food."
Amanda Strangwick, administration manager for the Salvation Army in Arnold, said: "We desperately need people to donate food.
"If they get 'buy one get one free' items and donate the one free, that would really help and wouldn't even cost any money.
"There are so many people in need and we want to help as many as possible."
Energie Fitness for Women in Arnot Hill Road, Arnold, also has a collection point.
Club owner Debbie Davison said they started asking members to donate food a week ago and 50 items had been collected.
"We have more than 400 members and they're all very generous," she said.
Gedling MP Vernon Coaker said: "The food bank is a really good initiative. It's a shame that it's needed, but unfortunately there is a need."
There are eight food banks city-wide, at Bestwood, Clifton, Aspley, Sneinton, Beeston, Broxtowe Estate, Chilwell and one which covers Radford and Hyson Green.
Food banks are also due to open in St Ann's and The Meadows by Christmas.
The effort comes as the Post is running its own Five Tons of Tins campaign, asking people, businesses and organisations to fill a collection box with tins and drop it off at a food bank.
All types of tinned food are accepted, as well as non-perishable items like dried pasta, cereals, tea bags and coffee.
For more information on the Arnold food bank, contact Mrs Lloyd on info@arnold.foodbank.org.uk.
For details on the Post campaign and where to donate, visit the Post's Facebook page.
Have you been helped by a food bank? Or do you volunteer at one? If so, call Post reporter Emily Winsor on 0115 905 1951, or e-mail emily.winsor@nottinghampostgroup.co.uk.
