SALISBURY charity The Trussell Trust has launched a new charity shop to help combat the rising problem of food poverty in the city.

The store, in Catherine Street, will raise funds for the charity’s foodbanks and is the biggest clothing retail outlet the charity has launched so far.

Between April and September 2013 the Salisbury foodbank provided emergency food to 2,500 local people.

The charity fears that as the temperature drops this winter, more local people are likely to have to choose between heating and eating.

The shop, which opened on Monday, is the third Trussell Trust charity shop to open this year.

Alongside clothes and books, the shop includes children’s toys and clothes sections and a cosy book nook where customers can sit quietly and read. In addition to raising awareness of the Trussell Trust, the shop will provide volunteering opportunities for people struggling to secure long-term employment.

The Trussell Trust’s regional retail manager Christine McCauley said: “We are delighted to announce the opening of the new shop. Please help by popping in to visit us, donating stock, or volunteering. You’ll be greeted by lots of happy faces, and in doing so, can help stop people going hungry in the local community.”

The opening of the new shop comes as new research reveals that 30 per cent of people in the south west say they have skipped meals, gone without food to feed their families or relied on family and friends to provide food over the last year.

The research, carried out by the Trussell Trust, along with food redistribution charity FareShare and Tesco, showed 44 per cent of households in the region have seen their situation worsen over the last year, and more than a quarter say they have struggled to buy the same amount of healthy and nutritious food they did 12 months ago.

The three organisations carried out the research ahead of holding the Neighbourhood Food Collection, the biggest ever food collection in the UK on Friday and Saturday.

Chris Mould, chief executive of the Trussell Trust, said: “The deeply distressing reality for Britain this Christmas is that thousands of families will struggle to put food on the table. Sixty thousand people are likely to receive emergency food from Trussell Trust foodbanks in the two weeks over Christmas alone, including 20,000 children.

“We’re already meeting parents who are choosing between eating and heating, and rising fuel prices mean this winter is looking bleak for people on the breadline.

“The generosity of Tesco shoppers at last weekend’s collection will be crucial in helping stop hunger this Christmas.”