Demand for charity food parcels has rocketed because of the recession, the Salvation Army says.

The Ashford branch says that 150 parcels of tinned food had to be given out in March, compared with just six or seven in the previous March.

The news comes as Ashford’s latest jobless figures, released yesterday (Wednesday), show the number of people out of work has more than doubled, leaping by more than 1,000, in the past year.

Ashford Salvation Army envoy Valerie Barkley told the Kentish Express: “We believe there has been an increase in this demand purely because of the recession.

“Families who have lost their job in the past few months need the food while they are waiting for their benefits to come through.”

The branch says it is running out of supplies, and it is appealing for individuals and companies to donate more food and money to help keep up with the ballooning demand.

Mrs Barkley added: “Supplies are running very low. We are now having to provide smaller parcels of food for each person so that we can make sure there is enough for those next in line. It is heartbreaking.”

The present supplies of tinned and other non-perishable foods came from items donated from school harvest festivals last autumn and the group’s Christmas appeal, which was backed by Kentish Express readers.

The group believes supplies are already running out for this month, with only tinned soup and beans remaining in reasonable quantities.

With the recession beginning to bite, the Kentish Express is backing the Salvation Army appeal for help, urging readers to help by donating items.

Mrs Barkley said: “We are appealing for members of the public and companies to provide donations of food and money. We believe it can be done because there are still a lot of people who are not hard-up in Ashford.”

Government figures show that the number of people claiming Jobseekers’ Allowance in Ashford borough now stands at 1,978, or 2.9 per cent of the working population.

The figure for this March is more than double that of the same month last year, when it was 811, or 1.2 per cent, and shows a continual rise in the local unemployment statistic since July.

The Ashford percentage for last month matches the South East average but is still below the national average of four per cent.

Donations should be taken to the Salvation Army centre at Cudworth Road, South Willesborough.