DESPERATE families in Tenbury will not have to go hungry.

Following an appeal in The Advertiser, a Good Samaritan has come forward to enable the emergency Food Relief Centre in the town to stay open.

Ian Elliot of Swan Cabs responded to the call after reading in the newspaper of the plight of the centre and the hungry people that it helps.

Laura Forbes, the administrator at the lifeline, says that Ian came to the rescue just in time.

“It is everything that we wanted,” she said.

“The space enables us to store all our food and it is dry and secure. But, more than that, Ian has said that we can have it for two years and if he moves he will take us with him." Parking space is also available for deliveries.

“He has been incredibly generous and the people who need the help will be more grateful that can be imagined,” she said.

The lifeline that provides emergency food parcels to people in Tenbury who cannot afford to feed themselves was just weeks from having to shut down.

It helps to feed nearly 100 families and individuals who would otherwise have had to survive on empty stomachs.

Without a new home, the service was going to have to close down after five years of tackling some of the worst examples of poverty.

The Emergency Food Scheme was given a notice to quit from the premises that it uses at the Aspire Centre in Burford.

It is not a food bank to which people can self-refer but a last hope for those who are really on the edge.

People in desperate need are referred to the centre by agencies like the police, social workers and GPs.

Laura Forbes said that there remains a serious misunderstanding about the kind of people who just cannot put food on the table.

“For the most part, they are not drug addicts or wasters but decent people who are hard-working but find themselves in a desperate situation,” she said.

In many cases, people had suffered from unexpected set-backs such as illness, a family breakdown or loss of a job.

She added that the food parcels are provided for families with children as well as to single people. In the past year, the scheme has provided food to around 70 families and individuals.

Food relief parcels are distributed twice a week, on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

The food relief scheme has been operating rent free from the Aspire Centre in Burford under an agreement with Shropshire Council.

But it was always understood that it would have to move out if a paying tenant was found and this has happened.

Food for the relief scheme is donated by individuals and organisations such as the churches and some traders.

It is not perishable and is largely made up of items like tinned foods and boxes or cereals. Therefore, the main requirement was that it should be dry, hygienic and lockable.