Moves are under way to ensure people struggling to make ends meet in Helensburgh and Lomond will sit down to a bumper Christmas dinner.

Helping hard-up families and individuals enjoy festive food is a top seasonal priority of the Helensburgh and Lomond Foodbank.

This week, food bank chairwoman Mary McGinley called on the community to help spread Christmas goodwill by donating food items traditionally enjoyed on December 25.

Mary told the Advertiser: “Christmas can be a very difficult time if you are on the breadline and struggling to make ends meet.

“Poor people feel poorer at Christmas but we want to give them the chance to sit down on Christmas Day to tuck into some festive fare and the community can help us achieve that aim.”

The local food bank volunteers are setting up a stall for Christmas food donations at Waitrose on December 2 and are inviting people to support it.

The non-perishable food will then be placed in bags appropriate to the size of each the family and handed out in the two weeks before Christmas at the food bank’s usual distribution points at the Red Cross Halls in Helensburgh and the Howie Pavilion in Rosneath. Some will also be supplied at the medical centre in Arrochar.

Organisers say they will be delighted to receive items such as tins of chicken and turkey breast, cranberry sauce, gravy granules, tins of Scotch broth, tinned custard, fruit, cream and jelly. Little extras such as mints will also be gratefully received.

Mary stressed the Christmas goodies will be in addition to the usual weekly distribution which will continue over the holiday period, although the Red Cross Halls will be closed on Christmas Day and New Year’s Day.

She added: “It’s very satisfying to know people are thinking of others at this time of year. It’s the community who are donating the food, so it’s neighbours helping neighbours.

“We can make sure they don’t need to worry about not having the money to buy a Christmas dinner.

“Many people are living hand to mouth and struggling to pay electricity and gas for heating and cooking during the winter when it’s very cold. It’s difficult for people to eke out their money to budget for their basic costs. They just can’t stretch.”

Pupils at Cardross Parish Church are having their own collection of Christmas items for the food bank and the Helensburgh Parish Church community are promoting “reverse Advent calendars”.

The idea is that families create their own Advent calendar which could be a box or container. Each day in the run-up to Christmas a non perishable food item, like a tin of meat, can be added and taken to the food bank once the calendar is full at the end of the period ends.

Mary said: “You hear nowadays of people spending ridiculous amount on things such as whisky Advent calendars and ones with perfumes and scents.

"The reverse Advent calendars allow people to think of others rather than themselves.

“We are very grateful to the school for their collection and the church community for their initiatives.”

Meanwhile, the local, independent community-run food bank, which is entirely voluntary and depends on people’s goodwill, is looking back on another successful year which has seen a steep increase in demand.

As of this week, 39,545 items had been donated and 39,143 given out. In addition to the food, hygiene products and toilet rolls are given out, including sanitary items for women.

A total of 35 bags are given to families and individuals every week.

The local Tesco store donates bread and bakery items via its Fairshare Scheme and there are permanent collection points in the Co-op and Waitrose. Schools and churches are also regular donors.

The food bank, which is seeing record attendances, operates a drop-in service without the need for a referral. People turning up are advised by the volunteers on the agencies that can provide additional support and advice.

The food bank operates from the Red Cross Halls in Helensburgh on Monday (10am to noon), Thursday (6pm to 8pm) and on Friday (10am to noon) and at Howie Pavilion in Rosneath on Wednesday (1pm to 3pm). Supplies are also sent to Arrochar Medical Centre when required.