A County Durham community centre will be extended to create a dedicated space for its food bank following a funding injection.

Woodhouse Community Centre in Bishop Auckland will be receiving the extension after the Crisis Intervention Programme (CIP) received £46,400 from Durham County Council’s Towns and Villages Improving Community Resilience Fund.

The centre was also given £40,000 from the council’s Bishop Auckland and Shildon Area Action Partnership.

This will allow the community centre to expand its food bank programme by providing a space where food donations can be stored and packed.

It will also allow for room for one-to-one meetings for those receiving other forms of support.

Cllr Alan Shield said: "Our area action partnerships and our community resilience fund are designed to support organisations and voluntary groups which help our residents and communities.

"Demand has risen since the Crisis Intervention Programme first began and the centre has found it difficult to find space to store food donations.

“The new all-purpose extension creates a functional space for the food bank which will ease pressure in the community centre, allowing more space for the project to provide its other forms of support."

The allocation from the area action partnership includes funding from county councillors Joanne Howey and Cathy Hunt, who each contributed £5,000 through their neighbourhood budgets.

The CIP helps those in need including those who are in receipt of benefits or their pension, and those in work, including those on zero-hour contracts.

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It also provides support in the form of utilities top-ups and helping direct those with specific needs to specialist organisations.

The programme also provides assistance to homeless people, those moving due to domestic violence situations, or people who need support with budgeting or accessing other intensive wrap around services.

The organisation offers crisis support five days a week, between 9am and 4.30pm from Monday to Thursday and 9am to 12.30pm on Fridays.