Get the stories that matter to you sent straight to your inbox with our daily newsletter. Subscribe Thank you for subscribing We have more newsletters Show me See our privacy notice Invalid Email

THE number of food parcels handed out to people in Scotland has risen five-fold in just a year – and almost one third of them went to children.

Many of the estimated 65,000 turning to charity are in work but so poorly paid they cannot afford to feed their families.

The shocking figures were revealed by Christian charity the Trussell Trust, who provide most of Scotland’s food banks.

Yesterday, they demanded an end to brutal Tory sanctions against those judged not to be looking hard enough for work.

They called for an increase in the minimum wage to help low-income workers cope with the soaring cost of living.

Ewan Gurr, the charity’s Scotland ­development officer, said: “Food banks are an incredible community response to crisis but the pressure people are ­experiencing in Scotland is cause for concern.

“Benefit delays highlight a faulty ­infrastructure that can instantaneously plunge people into food poverty. The close relationship between low income and benefit changes highlight that.

“Welfare provision is neither working for those in part-time work nor those seeking work.”

In Scotland, people relied 71,428 times on food handouts from the Trussell Trust in the last year, up from just over 14,000 the previous 12 months.

The Trust reckon 65,000 visited only once – proving that it is not just a tiny section of Scotland’s poorest people.

Last year, 482 tons of food relief was handed out and 22,387 of those receiving it were children.

The huge rise comes at a time when the Con-Dem Government claim the economy is recovering.

But that is no consolation for those on the breadline.

Behind the bleak numbers lie individual stories of destitution and despair as parents finally admit they cannot put food on the table for their children.

The main reasons people are referred to food banks are benefit delays, low incomes and benefit changes – mainly cuts because they have failed to find work.

The figures in Scotland have risen steadily throughout the economic ­downturn from 1070 in 2006-07, to 5726 in 2011-12 and 14,318 in 2012-13.

The number of food banks run by the Trussell Trust in Scotland has soared 10-fold in two years, from four in 2012, to 40, with five more on the way.

With the exception of affluent ­Aberdeen, cities and urban areas show the highest reliance on food handouts.

But a high proportion of people use food banks in Highland and island communities, where many people’s income varies seasonally.

In Glasgow, 9687 food packs were given out, 4145 to children.

The figure for Edinburgh was 6707, including 2416 children. In Dundee, it was 5990, 1527 of them to children – a huge figure for a city of less than 150,000 people. In Falkirk, children benefited from food banks 1532 times from a total of 5132.

The figures for Fife showed 4536 food parcels, 1437 of them for children.

In the Highlands, food banks were used 4504 times, 1169 by children.

Yesterday, the Big Lottery Fund announced it is providing £945,000 to the Trussell Trust in Scotland, while the ­Scottish Government recently pledged £1million over two years.

Jamie Livingstone, head of Oxfam Scotland, said: “The fact that the number of people forced to rely on food banks in ­Scotland has had a five-fold increase in the last year is deeply worrying. “Food banks and the thousands of people who support them are doing an incredible job in helping stop people from going hungry.

“But the truth is that in a country as rich as Scotland, food poverty should not still exist. We welcome the ­announcement from the Scottish Government that £1million is being provided over two years to support the work of emergency food providers.

“However, we need a long-term ­solution across the UK to provide adequate support to the poorest in our society and to address the root causes of food poverty.”

Across the UK, 913,138 food packs were handed out by the Trussell Trust in the last year.

The charity’s UK chairman Chris Mould said: “This figure is just the tip of the iceberg. Unless there is determined policy action to ensure the benefits of economic recovery reach people on low incomes, we won’t see life get better for the poorest any time soon.”

Peter Kelly, director of The Poverty Alliance, added: “It is concerning to see yet another dramatic rise in the number of people relying on food banks.

“Low wages and a punitive sanctions regime are forcing people into ­destitution.

“It is important that governments tackle underlying causes of poverty.”

Case Study - Ailsa Kellett

EX-nurse Ailsa Kellett, 49, had nothing left to eat – so she mixed flour with water and fried it.

It was that or eat a jar of mint sauce.

(Image: Trussell Trust)

She said: ”I moved to the Western Isles for two temporary posts and expected to find full-time work.

“However, the economic situation turned and I was forced on to Jobseeker’s Allowance and became homeless.

“I have paid in to the welfare system for years but when I needed it most it has failed me.

“I have been reduced to mixing flour with water, frying it in oil and coating it in sugar.

“That is what austerity does to people and without food banks, I do not know what we would do.”

Case Study - Terry Gunn

BORN-and-bred Orcadian Terry Gunn, 54, never thought he would have to rely on food handouts.

He was paid off from his job five years ago, the same year he suffered his first bout of epilepsy.

(Image: Trussell Trust)

Terry, who lives alone, suffers from circulation and balance problems but went back to college for a Food Hygiene Certificate.

His Jobseeker’s Allowance has been halved over the last five months. Terry says this was because he couldn’t provide proof of applying for enough jobs.

He was referred to a food bank by Citizens’Advice Bureau just before Christmas 2013.

Terry said: “I have obtained further certification to help in my search for work. My benefits were cut in half. It feels like punishment.”