Regular food bank collections are about to get under way in Ilkley as churches and local Christians continue their bid to tackle poverty in the area.

Churches Together in Ilkley is starting a food bank collection point at Tesco, on Springs Lane, from next Thursday, and is working to establish more collection points at other shops for food donations.

And local Christian groups are to raise community awareness of poverty with a talk on the impact of welfare reform, and run a money management course next month.

Churches Together in Ilkley, which brings together all the churches in the town, recently gave a talk to Ilkley Parish Council about poverty and need both in the Ilkley area and further afield.

The first food bank collection point will be launched at Tesco’s Springs Lane store, on Thursday, September 26, at 3pm. Members of the churches will staff the stall and be around to answer questions about the type of produce required. Another collection point will open at Booths and it is hoped that other business might be willing to host collection boxes. The non-perishable food will be donated to local people in need following referrals from local agencies as emergency aid in times of crisis.

A free talk about the impact of welfare reform, to help people understand how to apply for support, is also being organised. Incommunities’ housing trust welfare reform director, Dave Dickens, and Advice Network programme manager, Nick Hodgkinson, will speak at Christchurch, The Grove, on October 2, from 7.30pm.

A money management course is starting on Friday October 11, from 7.30-9.30pm in The Sanctuary on Church Street. There will three evening sessions (October 11, 18 and 25) which provide budgeting skills for life in a friendly, confidential environment. Contact 07933 005025 to book a place.