More food parcels are being handed out to Shropshire families struggling to put food on the table as government cuts continue to bite, it has been claimed.

Numbers of people living in the Ludlow area requesting assistance from Churches Together Around Ludlow (CTAL) have more than doubled over the past two-and-a-half years, according to group chairman Neil Richardson.

And committee members have agreed to extend their scheme to meet the demand.

The news was revealed at a public meeting at the town’s Methodist church on Thursday night held to discuss who was being hit the hardest by the Government’s spending cuts.

Mr Richardson said it had shocked a number of people in attendance.

Official figures released by CTAL show that 74 food parcels were handed out in Ludlow and surrounding villages in 2010 — up from just 35 in 2008.

Already 15 parcels have been handed out in the first three months of this year.

Each parcel contains non-perishable items like tea, coffee, pasta, rice, soup and beans.

All items are bought via donations made by church congregations and individuals and the scheme has been running since 2005.

Now organisers plan to publicise the scheme more and also contact local supermarkets to see if they can help meet the demand.

Mr Richardson said: “We have decided to extend the food parcel scheme which we run in the Ludlow area.

“Some people were pretty shocked to hear there were families in affluent 21st century Britain which did not have the means to put food on the table. It is very worrying that numbers are increasing.”

The Reverend Jon Edwards, minister at Ludlow Baptist Church, said almost all the people requesting parcels were referred to CTAL by agencies such as Citizens’ Advice Bureau and South Shropshire Housing Association.

He said: “We had to hand out 17 parcels in December 2010 alone, which was a record for us for a single month. We are fairly certain that the vast majority of people who receive food parcels are in dire need.

“We will keep doing everything we can to meet the demand.

“A lot of people at the meeting were not aware the scheme even existed so we hope more people will get involved and we are also looking at contacting supermarkets to see what they can do to help.”

By Peter Kitchen