STAFF at a Borders housing association have spent the 12 days of Christmas donating to their local foodbank.

And bosses from Berwickshire Housing Association handed over the boxes of donations this week.

Staff at BHA’s offices in Duns and Eyemouth decided they wanted to support the Food Bank run by the joint churches of Berwickshire by holding a special 12 Days of Christmas event where they donated enough food items to fill 12 boxes.

Marion Rayner, senior financial inclusion officer at BHA, told us: “When times get tough and people find it more and more difficult to feed themselves and their families, BHA has been proactive in referring those tenants for help from the Food Bank.

“The Food Bank does a wonderful job of collecting and distributing food donations from across the area and since the introduction of Universal Credit the number of requests for food parcels from tenants who are struggling has increased significantly.

“Each year BHA staff have donated generously especially, around Christmas time, and this year is no exception. We voted to support the Berwickshire Food Bank collecting for the ‘12 Days of Christmas’ and the response has been amazing.”

Items donated included a variety of tinned food, rice, tea bags, coffee, sugar, cereals, long life milk, soap, toothpaste and shampoo as well as some festive treats.

Food boxes are provided to people in crisis who have been referred by agencies such as social services, Citizens Advice Bureau and Berwickshire Housing Association who, on average, make six referrals a week.

Tom Redpath, Food Bank Quartermaster, thanked BHA staff for their support.

He added: “What an amazing effort much appreciated by us and I’m sure I speak for the recipients as well for whom it will have brought much Christmas cheer.”

Anyone wishing to make a donation to the Food Bank can do so by leaving it in the foyer of Duns Parish Church from Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm.

Items used in the food boxes are pasta, jars of pasta sauce, tins of stew or similar, tinned pies, tins of pilchards, corned beef, ham, cup-a-soups or tins of soup, jam, tea bags, coffee, breakfast cereal, long life milk (liquid or powder), tins rice pudding, tins of fruit, tins of potatoes, vegetables and baked beans.