A LOCAL walk and talk group has teamed up with a West Belfast charity to support their food bank initiative.

The '50 to 50' walk and talk group will be working with Foodstock on the Andersonstown Road to raise awareness and collect donations in the coming months.

The month's activities kick off on Saturday, November 19 with the Foodstock 10k challenge walk from the food bank's Andersonstown HQ to Mandela Hall.

The walk coincides with the Foodstock festival in the hall that evening, which is being supported by a number of local acts including comedian Paddy Raff as the headline act.

On Saturday, November 26, Foodstock will take over at the Falls Park park run.

Then, on December 1, the 12 walks of Christmas will get under way, a series of short 5k daily danders in support of Foodstock's Christmas appeal for food, toys and vouchers.

Martin Fegan from the 50 to 50 walk and talk group explained: "We are asking people to attend the events and bring at least one item from the Foodstock essential item list.

"Items required include cereal, tinned items, tea, coffee, pasta, rice, sauces. Donations of toiletries are also welcome.

"There is no limit to how many items you can bring.

"All of our events are a chance to have a chat with friends and of course to raise awareness of the vital work of Foodstock in the community.

"Our walking group is fully behind Foodstock in the coming months.

"Any donation will add to somebody’s life. There are people sitting today without a bowl of soup to give to their kids when they come home from school. Our aim is to reduce that as much as we can within our community.

"If we can help people as much as we can and make Christmas a memorable time for a family, that is our objective.

"This time last year, Foodstock were doing 500 referrals a month. Now, they are doing over 400 referrals a week. It is absolutely frightening.

"I joined the walk and talk group in March and we have done so much charity work already and Foodstock is our latest initiative.

"Everyone is welcome to get involved in our walk and talk group any time."