Falkirk Foodbank stretched to the limit as more and more families need its help to survive

Like the rest of the country’s food banks, Falkirk has seen a rise in the number of food parcels it is distributing to help families keep hunger at bay during these dark days of financial hardship.

Alastair Blackstock, Falkirk Food Bank chairman, said: “We’ve seen a rise in the number of food parcels we’ve sent out over the last year. I’d say we’ve put out 8000 parcels and its rising all the time.

"We’ve had more requests from families than we ever had. I know everyone’s in the same boat due to the cost of living crisis – we have volunteers at the food bank who are also affected by that.

"We are not getting as much food collections from the supermarkets due to the cost of living.”

According to the Trussell Trust, 59 per centof all the parcels provided by food banks between April and September this year were for families with children. Its food

banks distributed a record 41,878 food parcels to 21,000 children living in families who could not afford the essentials.

This is a four per cent increase compared to the same period last year and reflects the continuing rise in need for the support provided by food banks.     

It is a far cry from a decade ago when people thought the food banks were just going to be a temporary measure.

Alastair said: "We have been going for 11 years now and probably have sent out 100,000 food parcels in that time. When we first started we thought it would last for a wee while until things levelled out and got better.

"Well it’s not improved at all and in the past few months its been getting worse. We’ve heard of schoolchildren who are going to school in the morning without having a meal.”

The Trussell Trust stated low incomes, especially from social security, debt, health conditions, and issues with social security payments such as delays or sanctions

were the main reasons people were left with no option but to turn to a food bank for help.  

The charity reported an alarming 26,038 people have needed to use a food bank for the first time in the past six months, warning that food banks are at “breaking

point” as more and more people in communities across Scotland find themselves unable afford the essentials. 

Polly Jones, Head of the Trussell Trust in Scotland, said: “It is alarming an increasing number of children in Scotland are growing up in families facing hunger, forced to

turn to food banks to survive.  

“Rising hunger and hardship have devastating consequences for individuals and our communities, damage the nation’s health and hold back our economy. People in

work, as well as people who cannot work, are increasingly being pushed into debt and forced to turn to a food bank to survive.”   

The Trussell Trust is encouraging people to show their support for people facing hardship by signing a petition urging UK political party leaders to support the

introduction of an Essentials Guarantee to ensure that the basic rate of University Credit at least covers life’s essentials.

Visit the website for more information.