A Felixstowe vicar has been overjoyed by the "wonderful" generosity of the community's support of two schemes helping to feed families in lockdown.

St John the Baptist Church, in Orwell Road, has been collecting food and baby items as part of its Parish Pantry and Pushchair Pitstop campaigns and offering them free to those who need them.

Reverend Andrew Dotchin said the two campaigns kicked off last year but have expanded as demand grew throughout the pandemic.

Ipswich Star: The goods are available to members of the community free of chargeThe goods are available to members of the community free of charge (Image: Andrew Dotchin)

The Parish Pantry started last year as a weekly pop-up shop, but since October has been open every day.

The church now sees between 50 and 70 people collect goods daily.

Rev Dotchin said: "We didn’t do this because we want people to come to church, we did this because that’s what church people should be doing.

Ipswich Star: Reverend Andrew Dotchin. Picture: SARAH LUCY BROWNReverend Andrew Dotchin. Picture: SARAH LUCY BROWN

"Parishioners have found this is a time to act on our faith – in a time where many feel powerless, this is something positive they can do.

"It’s been absolutely wonderful. It really shows the generosity that is innate in humankind."