FOODBANK stocks in Swindon have been wiped out during the school summer holidays.

As an increasing number of families struggle to cope at meal times the Swindon Food Collective, which has donation points around the town, says it has distributed 1.2 tonnes more food over the past year than ever before.

It estimates that figure equates to around 1,000 more people in need of its help to put food on the table.

Cher Smith, the manager of Swindon Food Collective, noticed that one particular area of Swindon needed more attention and on Wednesday launched a new donation point at Morrisons in Haydon Wick.

Here's what you said on Facebook...

Jayne Brown: Why is anyone surprised at this? There are hundreds of families who rely on free school meals during term time. The long school holiday means no free meals but the children still need to be fed.

Kel New Newman: I used the foodbank a few times when I was homeless. The work they do is amazing.

Elspeth Hughes: Our politicians should be ashamed. While MPs and Lords benefit from subsidised food and wine we have a rise in foodbanks and charity shops. The fifth richest country in the world is being run into the ground by greedy inadequate MPs.

Kia Hilliard: Everyone who is saying internet and a phone is a luxury – you can't apply for jobs or help without the internet or a phone, it's an essential these days and just as important as electricity and rent. People do need to budget but no one can deny the huge rise in living costs, and that the summer holidays are expensive if you are a working family.

Daniel Adams: Both France and Germany have substantially higher foodbank usage than us. In France it's 200 million meals a year. In the UK it's 1.3 million three-day parcels.

Paul Alibone: Do they get as much food as possible from supermarkets to stop food waste? Are all of our supermarkets signed up to support this scheme?

Steve Goral: Anyone else remember the days when we fed our kids without using foodbanks.

And here are the views you shared in the comments section on our website...

Hammer5: This may sound harsh but by giving food will mean the government doing nothing to help this situation. This country should hang its head in disgrace and look at raising the minimum wage and it will go a little way to helping this country.

We are actually creating a generation who are coming to rely on handouts but the question is: What happens if people stop donating?

GalaxyMan: We long since created a generation of people who thought the country owed them a living. Sadly those that are genuinely in need of urgent and short-term help are sullied with the same brush as the terminally idle and workshy.

Stan.Oliver: The government has created this situation. They have no interest in solving it. Foodbanks is just what Cameron had in mind when he talked about "the big society". Support for normal people coming from charities and volunteers, leaving the government free to support their rich mates.

Rozzaman: Perhaps Robert Buckland would like to take time out from his fancy promotion and take a look at the state of his constituency. I don't suppose he has the time, so busy supporting this cruel and inhumane government and rubbing his hands over his next possible promotion.

Wa231: Their noble efforts would be better applied addressing budgeting advice, debt management and home economics. We are already paying well over £100bn in welfare and child tax credits are thousands of pounds per year when a nutritious home cooked meal costs pence. Dependency culture started with schools offering free food and wrap around care and is now spreading like a cancer.