More than 100,000 Scots have used food banks over the last year, including 36,114 children according to a leading charity.

The figures were revealed as The Trussell Trust confirmed that UK-wide, the number forced to rely on foodbanks at some point in the last 12 months has exceeded one million people for the first time.

An increase in workers on low pay having to seek emergency help for food and people facing benefit delays or sanctions were among the reasons given for the increase.

The charity runs 445 food banks across the UK, 50 of them in Scotland, which provide people unable to afford food with three days' worth of supplies. However it says its figures are an underestimate of the true level of domestic crisis faced by families, as many small charities and churches also run foodbanks or schemes for handing out food to those in need.

The Trussell Trust, which launched its first UK foodbank in Salisbury in 2000, said 1,084,604 people received supplies in the last financial year, an increase of 19% over the previous 12 months.

Problems with benefits were the main reason people visited foodbanks, but the Trust said there had been an increase in those on low incomes.

Foodbank managers reported dealing with people struggling with insecure work, low pay and high living costs.

Ewan Gurr, manager of the Trussell Trust's network of Scottish food banks, said: "Despite welcome signs of economic recovery, hunger continues to affect significant numbers of men, women and children in the UK today.

"It's difficult to be sure of the full extent of the problem as Trussell Trust figures don't include people who are helped by other food charities or those who feel too ashamed to seek help."

"Trussell Trust foodbanks are increasingly hosting additional services like debt counselling and welfare advice at our foodbanks, which is helping more people out of crisis. The Trussell Trust's latest figures highlight how vital it is that we all work to prevent and relieve hunger in the UK."

Dr John Middleton, vice president of the Faculty of Public Health said: "The rising number of families and individuals who cannot afford to buy sufficient food is a public health issue that we must not ignore.

"For many people, it is not a question of eating well and eating healthily, it is a question of not being able to afford to eat at all. UK poverty is already creating massive health issues for people today, and if we do not tackle the root causes of food poverty now we will see it affecting future generations too.

"The increased burden of managing people's health will only increase if we do not address the drivers of people to food banks."

Carmel McConnell, chief executive of the Magic Breakfast charity, which delivers food to schools, said the new figure for children using foodbanks was "worrying", adding:

"When children start their school day hungry, they cannot concentrate and risk missing the most important lessons of the day."

Last year across the UK, the public donated 10,280 tonnes of food to foodbanks.

SNP Depute Leader Stewart Hosie MP said the figures were alarming, and added: "UK government cuts and welfare sanctions are having a devastating impact on communities across Scotland - pushing 100,000 more of our children into poverty and forcing more families to have to rely on foodbanks.

"The question for Labour and the Tories - the pro-cuts parties - is how many more food banks have to open before they change their misguided policies of further cuts?" he said.

Scottish Labour leader Jim Murphy said the work of food banks was inspiring, but the need for them was enraging.

"The fact that the number of Scots using food banks could now fill Hampden twice over should sicken us all and remind us why we need to get rid of the uncaring government causing this misery," he said. "It is an absolute scandal that working people are forced to turn to food banks to feed their children. It's a scandal that wages aren't stretching far enough and hours aren't guaranteed. That has to change, and Labour has a plan to change it."