Almost 2,000 struggling people were fed over the summer thanks to a regional daily’s campaign.

Southampton City Mission has thanked the Southern Daily Echo and its readers after the newspaper’s ‘Boost the Bank’ drive to raise awareness of the high demand for food banks due to the cost-of-living crisis.

Readers were encouraged to donate at 14 drop-off points across Southampton after the Echo teamed up with the charity in July.

Staff at the Newsquest-owned daily were involved in collecting, and dropping off a variety of donated items from the public and supermarket chains during the course of the campaign.

How the Echo launched the campaign in July

Editor Ben Fishwick said: “I’m very grateful to our readers who have contributed to Boost the Bank, particularly at a time when the cost of living crisis is hitting everyone’s pockets.

“City Mission does fantastic work across the city – as do other food banks – and I’m pleased this campaign has made a real difference.

“The Echo played a small part in supporting City Mission, whose staff and volunteers work tirelessly to improve the lives of others.”

Duncan House, the charity’s general manager, told the Echo: “We have been delighted with how the Echo has supported Southampton City Mission (SCM) through the summer with their Boost the Bank campaign.

“Their reporting has been excellent and it has helped confirm the sense of ownership from ‘Southamptonites’ that we are their food bank, for them and their neighbours.

“From an historic low coming out of Covid, the level of donations from the public has increased steadily as the Echo have been running articles on our projects.

“We are grateful to the editor and his team for championing SCM and to the public for their ongoing support in this time of national hardship.”