THE idea that a network of food banks across Scotland would spring up to feed the hungry would have been unthinkable just a few years ago.

While politicians offer blithe reassurances that the UK economy is on the mend, the revelation there is record demand for food parcels - once more associated with wartime but now a part of austerity Britain - is shocking, with one major Glasgow food bank even forced to close its doors after running out of supplies.

Food banks are a welcome demonstration of community spirit, but the fact they are picking up the pieces of the UK Government's toxic policies should not be ignored.

Many people report having to turn to food banks because of delays to benefits or being left with nothing to survive on due to punitive sanctions for failing to stick to welfare rules.

Others are struggling to put food on the table for their family despite being in work, with household budgets squeezed to extremes as incomes fail to keep pace with a relentless increase in everyday bills in recent years.

The idea of helping the vulnerable and needy with a food handout may not be new - in fact, it evokes the Victorian poor house - but the rising scale of the problem in a country as affluent as the UK is a disgrace which cannot be allowed to gradually creep into acceptance.

In Canada, the first food bank was established in 1981 in the belief it would be a temporary solution to alleviate the immediate needs of the hungry. Today, the country has more than 800 food banks and 3000 food programmes, and 850,000 Canadians are estimated to have used a food bank in an average month.

The Salvation Army in Scotland notes many people feel "degraded" by having to ask for such help. What does it say about a society in which some are forced to eke out three days worth of food from tins of soup, beans and pasta to stave off hunger, while the average household carelessly throws away £470 of unwanted food a year?

This week will see the Radical Independence movement attempt to ramp up the campaign for Scottish independence with claims that Britain is "for the rich". Aside from the arguments continuing to rage over whether Scotland should stay in the UK, the demand for food banks shows clearly that many of the poorest in society are being punished under the guise of austerity.

As Cardinal Vincent Nichols, the leader of the Roman Catholic Church in England and Wales noted: "Something is going seriously wrong when, in a country as affluent as ours, people are left in that destitute situation and depend solely on the handouts of the charity of food banks."

The oft-repeated refrain of David Cameron that "we are all in this together" certainly rings hollow when the poorest in the country have to seek out food parcels to survive, while well-paid MPs continue to enjoy the perks of being able to dine on subsidised meals at Westminster.