A Crewe food bank has kicked off a new era to meet soaring demand with major support from a growing storage company, set to launch in Crewe in January 2026.

St Paul's Centre food bank has moved into larger premises at Wellington House on Delamere Street, boosting its vital work helping the most vulnerable families.

Lock Stock Self Storage marked the milestone with a bumper donation including pasta, sauces, biscuits, tinned goods and rice.

The North Wales-based firm, set to open on the corner of Frances Street and Catherine Street, also threw in festive treats to bring Christmas cheer to struggling households.

Lock Stock Storage is set to open on the corner of Frances Street and Catherine Street in January 2026 - the former fire-ravaged printworks site (Photo: Lock Stock).

Lock Stock, which has a long-standing policy of backing community groups where it operates, said it was proud to support the service as demand continues to rise.

St Paul's Centre's CEO, Jez Chalmers, said Lock Stock's donation would make a real difference to struggling families in the town.

He said: "We are incredibly grateful to Lock Stock for their donation. What we are finding at the moment is donations to our food bank have gone down but the demand on the food bank has gone up.

"So the gap has widened, and more than ever we are taking out of our own finances to keep things going and that has the potential to eat into budgets which we want to set aside for other projects.

"So, running a service like a food bank has become a huge financial juggling act. To have an organisation like Lock Stock supporting us, especially just before Christmas, is a wonderful thing to happen.

"The need for food banks is increasing and it's not always people who are unemployed or homeless, it's often from people who are working a couple of jobs and trying to keep everything going.

"It can even be people dealing with hidden debt, there are all sorts of needs going on from behind closed doors, and our job is to offer kindness, dignity, not judgement – just food.

"Our food bank has been running since the 2010s and we get donations generally from all over the place but the biggest donors are local faith groups and churches.

St. Paul's Centre has been operating as a charity since 1986 and as a food bank since the 2010s (Photo: Ryan Parker).

"Crewe Alexandra FC have just made a donation, we get local families turning up, we have support from supermarkets with having trollies in various stores.

"And more than ever we are starting to see more partnerships between the business, public and charity sector, which is really wonderful to see and massively needed.

"We have about eight volunteers working on the food bank and that includes collecting the donation, stocking the food on the shelves and making up the food parcels.

"The food bank is open every day and people come and collect their food from about 10am to 12pm."

Lock Stock Self Storage site manager, Richard Warner, told Nub News:"It is always pleasing to be able to help people at any time of the year, and to be able to do that at Christmas is extra special.

"Sadly the need for food banks is growing and some families are really struggling to make ends meet.

"We are proud to be part of the community here in Crewe and we feel it is our responsibility to help that community where and when we can.

St. Paul's Centre opened a new Crewe town centre charity shop on Victoria Street in December 2025 (Photo: Ryan Parker).

"The food bank is starting a new era with its new base and we are starting a new era with our new site in Crewe, so it's been wonderful to be able to work together on this project."

The donation comes as Lock Stock, the UK's largest container-based storage provider, is set to open its new 150-unit site in Crewe under its rapid expansion plans.

The 1.2-acre site in Crewe South will regenerate an area left derelict following a major fire at a disused printworks in August last year.

The facility will feature solar-powered security lighting, keyless coded entry, and extended access hours from 6am to 11pm.

It will also include Lock Stock's advanced online booking system with monitored CCTV and a live intercom link to the company's head office in Denbigh, allowing new customers to sign up and start storing within minutes.

The opening will extend Lock Stock's growing Cheshire presence, following the launch of new storage parks this year in Winsford, Runcorn and Northwich.

Lock Stock, founded in Denbigh in North Wales in 2000, have over 5,700 storage units providing more than five million cubic feet of space at almost 40 storage parks across North and Mid Wales and the border counties by the end of 2025.

Lock Stock Operations Manager, Mike Trow, (right), with North West Area Manager, Richard Warner (Photo: Mandy Jones Photography).

They estimate over 70 per cent of their units are rented by people moving house or keeping treasured possessions but nearly 30 per cent, about 2,000, are used by used by a variety of businesses for storing materials, stock and equipment.

There is also a growing market from students looking to store possessions outside term time and Lock Stock also specialise in the off-site hire - and sale - of containers, delivered to location by their specialist lorry.

This can even bring a unit to your premises to fill or empty and store it at any of its locations.

For information about Lock Stock Self Storage including off-site container hire contact them on 01745 817178 or go to the website HERE.

READ MORE: Plans for 88 new homes on land east of Crewe.

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