A food bank has been given a £1,000 emergency grant after demand doubled in the past six weeks.

Rhymney Valley Food Bank, which operates from sites in Rhymney and New Tredegar, received the funding after stocks became “perilously low”.

The funding comes from Pen Bryn Oer Wind Farm Community Benefit Fund, which gives £30k each year to projects in the Upper Rhymney Valley.

Leah Philbrick, from Rhymney Valley Food Bank, expressed her gratitude for the funding and said the food bank, which has fed more than 1,300 people since the start of April, has seen “demand more than double in the last month and a half”.

She added: “It has been with help from this grant that we have been able to stabilise our stock situation which was perilously low, to meet the increased demand and now to be in a good position to respond to the needs that will undoubtedly continue to be present in our communities for the months ahead.”

Twyn Carno councillor Carl Cuss, who is chair of the Pen Bryn Oer Wind Farm Community Benefit Fund’s advisory group, said: “Despite all the funds we have allocated to other community groups in this round of funding applications, I am pleased we were able to support these groups on the Tredegar and Rhymney side, who are working extremely hard to support our communities during Covid-19.

“Keep up the good work and a huge thank you on behalf of the panel for everything that you do.”