A CHURCH building has reopened its doors as a foodbank to support the community while its congregation meet online.

The Citygate Community Hub is now operating as a distribution centre for Bournemouth Foodbank.

The facility in Holdenhurst Road, near the town's railway station, is now also home to a warehouse where food donations are sorted, stored and packed into emergency food parcels ready for families and individuals in crisis.

Debbie Coombes, Bournemouth Foodbank director, said: “It’s really important that clients have somewhere safe to come and collect their emergency food from. Bournemouth now has a total of six food banks overseen by the Trussell Trust or Faithworks Wessex.

"Unfortunately, many of our volunteers have had to self isolate for their own safety and we can only have so many working in the warehouse to allow for social distancing. This is why we asked Citygate Church to help take some of the load.”

Normally on Sunday mornings the hub hosts a congregation of up to 500 people, as well as numerous midweek groups and large corporate and community events.

However, since public meetings came to a halt due to the coronavirus pandemic, the building has stood empty while the church community meets online, streaming its Sunday celebrations on YouTube and hosting midweek gatherings on Zoom, including an online Alpha course.

Russell White, leader of Citygate Church preached from his living room on Easter Sunday to a larger online audience than could normally fit in the church building.

He said: “It’s hard for a church to suddenly stop meeting together, especially at Easter time. But it was great to see so many take part in our online meetings and with over 1000 views on Easter Sunday, we feel that we are reaching more people than ever before.”

Food banks are reporting that while food insecurity is on the rise, they are struggling to manage the demand without risking their volunteer workforce and the public to further exposure to the virus.

Anyone who is unable to afford food because of the COVID-19 crisis or for some other reason, can ask for a food bank voucher from any of the local agencies listed on the Bournemouth Foodbank website. For more information, visit bournemouth.foodbank.org.uk/how-to-get-help.