PEOPLE in crisis will be able to find help thanks to a new Hampshire foodbank collection point.

The Southern Cooperative, which has a food store in Wickham Square, has become the village's first collection point after Meon Valley Food Bank asked the store to help.

The organisation is a church-led and community-focused project enabling people to support individuals and families who are at crisis point, and provides dried or tinned food donated by local churches, individuals, charities and businesses.

Sue Pardon of the Meon Valley Food Bank said: "A bit thank you goes out to all our volunteers and clients to our current supporters and to the Souther Cooperative Store in Wickham which has very kindly agreed to become our first community collection point for the Meon Valley Food Bank in Wickham.

"Through doing this, the store and their customers are really playing an important part in helping our local individuals and families who are struggling to get by not only in a practical way, but also by generally raising peoples' awareness to this need.

"The food will be very gratefully received."

The store is also running a community support scheme throughout 2015, with a pledge to donate up to £12,000 the St Nicholas' Church and £8,000 to Home Start Meon Valley.

The project is free and shoppers only need to have their membership card swiped each time they shop.

Shop manager Stuart Heaton said: "It is important to our business, as a cooperative, that we support our local communities.

"The team here at Wickham have a really hands-on approach to helping local good causes through fundraising, volunteering and our community support scheme, and this is generously supported by our customers.

"Installing the collection point is one more way we can help those in need and our customers have filled this up quickly with their donations of food."