Food banks across the city fear the prospect of having to close as they face an all-time low in donations amid a surge in demand for support.

The Brighton and Hove Food Partnership said food banks are now having to spend hundreds of pounds a week to top up dwindling stock levels.

The collective of dozens of food banks in the city warned that such spending is unsustainable and could force some organisations to make difficult decisions, such as closing doors on new referrals, rationing the amount of food they offer to users or closing altogether.

The organisation has launched a Food SOS campaign, calling on businesses and other groups to help raise funding or organise food collections to donate to food banks.

Helen Starr-Keddle, project manager at Brighton and Hove Food Partnership, said: “In the last few weeks we have had our phones ringing off the hook from people who have absolutely no food in the house and no money to purchase anything.

“This Christmas is going to be particularly brutal for hard-hit families trying to make ends meet.

“Food bank workers are exhausted and overwhelmed with no end in sight.”

She urged those who can afford to help to do so.

Figures from the city’s emergency food network, published earlier this year, reveal food banks have had a 69 per cent drop in money and food donations.

Mike Jourdain from the Brighton and Hove Food Bank said that while he is “grateful” for people’s generosity, there has been a huge surge in demand for support and expressed fears that smaller food banks in the city may have to close.

He said: “We are seeing so many people coming to our door - now 250 people a week, or around 125 households.

“We are buying in half of the food we are giving out - £1,500 a week is unsustainable and we are concerned how this will impact on our work in 2023.”

Around 40 emergency food providers are operating in Brighton and Hove, including food banks, community meal projects and social supermarkets, supporting over 5,000 people in the city every week.