THE organisers of the Liskeard/Looe Foodbank are praising the efforts of the many 'outstandingly generous' people, who are continuing to donate items to help people who are going through difficult times.

One such person is 10-year-old Eli Horsfield, from St Cleer, who has been saving his pocket money in the months leading up to Christmas so he could go out and buy some goods to donate.

Eli, who attends St Cleer Primary School, and is a Pensilva cub scout, had become interested in helping poorer people through his village's link with Shigamba in Tanzania. He says he didn't realise some people in this country were also struggling until he heard about the foodbank while attending the monthly 'Messy Church' held at the Memorial Hall.

David Berry, project manager at the foodbank's headquarters in Liskeard, said Eli's contribution was brought in on Monday.

'We weighed it and we were blown away that this young lad had contributed 27 kilos of food through his own efforts,' he said. 'It's just brilliant that someone so young had wanted to do something to help. He had even thought about adding in some Christmas treats.'

On Saturday, members of the foodbank team were at the Morrisons store in Liskeard where customers donated 720 kilos of items on the charity's shopping list. Many were putting in Christmas treats such as chocolate and sweets as well as the staple foods.

'People's generosity was staggering,' said David. 'One family went shopping and filled up an entire trolley for us, which amounted to 40 kilos. On Wednesday, a couple who donate to us three or four times a year, brought us 87 kilos of food.

'We have a fantastic amount of food in the store, but the demand remains constant and we give out half-a-tonne each week. This year the amount of people needing our help has risen by 30 per cent. We expect to be busier in the run-up to Christmas and we are packing extra festive boxes to go out with the normal food packs.'

David said when the foodbank first started four years ago it covered the whole of the Caradon area and catered for a few hundred people. Now the depot just runs the Liskeard/Looe Foodbank which incorporates Torpoint, and has helped 1,300 people alone this year.

'I know the Callington and Saltash Foodbanks are also incredibly busy,' he said.