28-04-2025
- Business
- The Herald Scotland
Food bank support for children in Scotland ‘worse than ever'
The figures have been described as 'devastating' by food bank bosses and has raised concerns over the Scottish Government's three-year strategy.
SNP ministers pledged a move to a 'cash first' approach, where families facing food insecurity would be given shopping cards or money as an alternative to food banks.
However, as part of The Herald's in depth look at the scale of child poverty in Scotland, charity bosses are warning the need for crisis support is worse than ever.
Andy Ireland, managing director of Start Up Stirling – a crisis charity for families in poverty – said: 'This isn't about kicking politicians. This is about trying to get a national approach that works.
'How much longer does the third sector continue to do the work, that in my opinion, others should be doing? It's always the easy option to leave it to someone else.'
Without food banks, he said: 'It would be catastrophic. Where would people go? In this area alone, some of the food banks that appeared during Covid are gone That has brought more people towards us.
'To end the need for food banks you have to be all in. The figures don't lie. Something has to be done quickly or we are going to lose the initiatives that are already there.'
Read more:
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Mr Ireland said more working people are now relying on food banks like Start Up for emergency support, while in areas like Dunblane, often considered to be affluent, there has been an increase of 42%.
In 2014, 324 children were supported by Start Up Stirling, soaring to 1,302 a decade later – a record high.
Data from the Trussell Trust showed that 55,977 food parcels were distributed for children in 2017-18, with 173,511 issued in total.
By 2023-24, that figure had soared to 86,013 parcels for children, with 262,479 overall.
That is an increase of 53.7% in six years. The true scale could also be higher as these are parcels issued only by Trussell Trust food banks, not the hundreds of independent organisations like Start Up Stirling.
In Edinburgh, emergency food parcels for children soared by 78.5% in the same timeframe, with 5,812 parcels issued in 2017-18, rising to 10,374 in 2023-24.
In Fife, food parcels for children increased from 4,289 to 6,229.
Parcels for children doubled in Aberdeen, from 1,324 in 2017-18 to 3,647. There was also a significant increase in East Lothian, rising from 1,487 to 5,079 in 2023-24.
The increase was at least double in West Lothian, South Lanarkshire, Scottish Borders, Orkney Islands and Midlothian, while food parcels for children did not increase in Shetland Islands, North Lanarkshire, the Western Isles, Moray, Inverclyde, Glasgow, East Ayrshire and Angus.
Where usage did not increase, it remained stable.
Catherine Canning, food bank co-ordinator at the Glasgow South East food bank, said: 'The government has got to be accountable.
'The people who come to us, they're not coming here out of choice. Some people come in and they're really embarrassed, upset. It's quite hard to watch.'
Ruth Wilkinson, pathfinder manager at Glasgow South East food bank, said: 'It is really shocking. I am horrified at how normalised food banks have become because they shouldn't be.
'If the social security system was actually fit for purpose then food banks wouldn't need to exist because everybody would be able to afford at least the basics.
'These are my neighbours. I can see they live around the corner from me. It's horrifying that so many people so local to me are really struggling.'
'It seems like the more we do, the less that government does,' she added.
Social Justice Secretary Shirley-Anne Somerville emphasised the Scottish Government's ambition for Scotland to be a country 'without the need for food banks'.
Launching the cash-first strategy in 2023, she said food banks were initially set up for 'short-term support' for people in an emergency.
However, she accepted they have become a 'necessary lifeline' for some Scots.
'Despite the best efforts of the Scottish Government, it is disappointing that the need for food banks is now greater than ever,' she said.
The Scottish Government paper charted the steps to be taken over the next three years to 'move us closer' to ending the need for food banks.
Social Justice Secretary Shirley-Anne Somerville said: 'No one should have to compromise on food or other essentials.
'We are taking action to improve the response to crisis, using a Cash-First approach, so that fewer people need to turn to food parcels, by increasing access to emergency income, along with welfare rights and income maximisation advice and support to prevent future hardship. This Cash-First approach enables people to choose the essentials they need whilst maintaining dignity.
'We are also taking action to support families, including through the Scottish Child Payment which is forecast to benefit the families of over 330,000 children in 2025-26.
'It was encouraging to see a 5% drop in the number of parcels distributed by Trussell food banks in Scotland for children between 1 April 2024 and 30 September 2024 compared to 2023-24, which shows our policies are working. However we know there is more to do.
'We have repeatedly called for the UK Government to deliver an Essentials Guarantee to ensure people can always afford their basic needs. Instead, our efforts are being undermined by the policies of the UK Government like the two-child limit, which is increasing poverty and hardship for many families.
'We are working to develop the systems necessary to effectively scrap the impact of the two-child cap in 2026.'
