A local charity has paid tribute to the generous people of Carlisle after receiving several significant donations in the past week. 

Carlisle Foodbank first received a trolley full of long-lasting items including cereal, tinned food, and pasta.

The people of social media were clearly inspired and just a few days later, an anonymous ASDA shop landed on the foodbank's doorstep. 

Steph Humes, manager at Carlisle Foodbank, said: "It will make a huge difference. It’s so humbling that we are getting donations like this. It purely is people just reaching out after seeing our social media posts. They’ve all been people that have messaged saying, ‘I haven’t got a car, can I send an Asda shop.’

"People are finding out what we need through social media. We’ve got an app called BankTheFood. There are about 750 people using it at the minute. Whatever we need most, we pop on there. It’s a really easy way for people to see exactly what we need, when we need it."

What perhaps stood out most about the recent donations was the desire of people to stay anonymous, at a time when charitable actions are perhaps used more than ever to gain influence and attention on social media.

Steph added: "I think it’s absolutely incredible. Staying anonymous does show a lot about the people around here and how they are doing it just to help the community."

Carlisle Foodbank expects to be extremely busy as we approach the festive period but Steph hopes that some Christmas spirit can play a part in increasing the number of donations. 

She said: "We really need a huge push at this time of year. We will see an increase in Foodbank users, so we do need that extra help. We just put on our socials about the reverse advent calendar which is a really great and easy way for people to give a little bit. That really will help us."

The charity also received a heart-warming donation from seven-year-old Jacob, who raised money by selling toys and making bracelets, which saw him later described as 'absolutely inspirational' by Steph.