IT is with dismay that we note the findings by the Trussell Trust that the number of food parcels handed out by its food banks has greatly increased ("£1m boost for food banks as demand soars", The Herald, April 16).
This follows hard on the heels of the report by Pulse that GPs are being asked to refer patients to food banks and that documented cases of malnutrition in British hospitals have doubled in the past five years. At the same time, Westminster refuses to print its own report on food banks, completed several months ago.
Britain is facing a public health emergency. There is no other way that this can be described. We have not seen this level of foodbanks since the Second World War and it is clear that the demand is far outstripping supply. It is not a situation that can be left to volunteers, churches and the NHS to sort out. This requires major social government intervention now, before things worsen.
Whatever the reasons for this, we as a country have no excuse for allowing people to starve. We are not poor. There is no shortage of food in Britain. We are not at war. And we have a functioning democratic government. All this requires is the will to address the problem.
The fledging NHS battled for years to overcome malnutrition and its associated health problems of stunted growth, rickets, susceptibility to disease, heart problems and early death.
If we do not address this problem , we could be dealing with health issues resulting from malnutrition for years to come.
We must act and act now or face handing on a legacy of ill health to our children.
Julie McAnulty,
Chairwoman, Scottish Health Campaigns Network,
1 Lugar Street,
Coatbridge.
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