LET'S pack this van with food.

This is the message to more than 1,400 staff at Southampton's Ford factory taking part in the Daily Echo's Easter appeal to help feed thousands of the city's poorest people.

The aim it to collect enough grub to fill a Ford Transit van, then drive it to Southampton's Basics Bank in Northam, where it will be transformed into vital meal parcels and distributed.

About 7,000 people every year visit the centre for emergency food. Many have left violent marriages, been released from jail or are simply awaiting benefits - but all of them are too poor to feed themselves. It's a level of poverty almost unimaginable in wealthy Hampshire, but this month Daily Echo readers have been helping to make a difference.

The Daily Echo has joined forces with SCRATCH, the Basics Bank's umbrella charity, to set up collection points around the county.

Call the Basics Bank for more information on 023 8077 3132 or 07711 446 850.