The charity has thanked the community for another ‘incredible’ response to an appeal.
Manager Simon Fairclough said the food bank at Upper Mansell Street had been particularly short of tinned meat and other protein products when it posted a photograph of its depleted shelves on social media last week.
‘A picture tells a thousand words,’ he said.
‘And as is usually the case, the public response has been incredible.’
Donations including corned beef, Spam, Fray Bentos pies and tinned mince quickly arrived, with many islanders also ordering directly from the charity’s regularly updated Amazon wish list.
Mr Fairclough said the difference between the shelves before and after the appeal was striking, but while standing in the replenished pantry, he warned that supplies could disappear surprisingly quickly.
‘If we didn’t have a single item coming in from now, this would be empty in two or three weeks,’ he said.
The charity, which relies on donations to meet changing demand, is now appealing for a different range of essentials.
Its latest list includes toiletries and household necessities such as nappies [sizes 6 and 7], shampoo, conditioner, toothpaste, deodorant, toilet roll and shower gel, while food products currently needed include so-called ‘luxury items’ such as sugar, mayonnaise and ketchup.
Mr Fairclough said people regularly contacted the service if its weekly list of most-needed items had not been published.
‘People are amazing, and we get so much support from them,’ he said. ‘I’m still blown away with the generosity of people here.’
He said one of his aims since becoming manager a year ago had been for the charity to avoid spending donated funds on food wherever possible.
‘At the moment, every single item that we give out in food has been donated to us by the community,’ he said.
‘All we’re doing is matching the generosity of the community with the growing need of the people.’