OUR foodbanks have made a real difference to the lives of people in East Lancashire. Families struggling with financial problems have been able to put food on the table thanks to these fantastic social enterprises.

The Lancashire Telegraph has thrown its weight behind such efforts by launching a Back Our Foodbank campaign.

We have been calling on our thousands of readers to give donations of food so these groups are well stocked up as demand soars.

It followed shocking figures which showed the number of people using foodbanks had trebled in the past year.

To cope with rising demand, our foodbanks in Blackburn and Burnley have unveiled plans to expand into larger premises so they can offer more help to the community.

And Community Solutions North West (CSNW) has even landed an award after increasing its number of staff from eight to 21 in the past year.

On average CSNW helps around 1,000 people with its various programmes and packs between 200 and 250 food parcels each week.

It also runs a befriending service offering companionship to isolated individuals across East Lancashire.

These services deserve all the credit they get.

We must continue supporting our local foodbanks as they do a tremendous job.