A CHARITY is offering members of the public the chance to have a look behind the scenes and find out more about what they do.

East Lothian Foodbank is holding an open house on December 1, between 12.30pm and 3pm, when everyone is welcome to drop in, have a bite to eat and learn more about the Tranent-based charity.

The foodbank has been based in the former library on the town’s Civic Square for the last three years.

Now, life is going to get easier for the busy team of volunteers, who weigh, sort and store donated food by its use by date.

Over the October break, the charity closed its doors for a makeover, with new shelving and floor and a lick of paint.

Peter Dicker, manager of East Lothian Foodbank, encouraged people to come along to the event next month and have a look around.

He said: “We envisage being in these premises for the next three years and the old library needed a face-lift even before the foodbank moved in.

“We now have a much safer, cleaner and more pleasant environment for our amazing volunteers, many of whom have been with us since the beginning.

“Every request for a food parcel is an emergency, and we pride ourselves on responding urgently and efficiently; having proper shelving for the first time is going to make life a lot easier for us.

“We are very grateful to East Lothian Council for supplying our new floor; East Lothian Shop Fitters, who have fitted our new shelves free; and, finally, Ron Harvey from Ormiston, who cheerfully painted for us.

“Our shelving is actually second hand and has a claim to fame, appearing alongside Brad Pitt in the film World War Z!”

Since the beginning of April this year, the charity has handed out almost 10,000kg of food to people across the county. A total of 1,560 people have been fed.

Mr Dicker added: “We have also had a fantastic response to Harvest Festival this year.

“Local organisations, churches, nurseries and schools have collected 2,484.4kg of food.”