Martin Sime was a key speaker at the Scottish regional meeting of the Trussell Trust's food bank network.

He told the meeting in Bathgate that there should be more celebration of the achievements of the network of 34 food banks in Scotland run by the Trussell Trust and praised the food bank phenomenon for confronting the public with the undeniable fact that in 21st century Scotland, people are going hungry.

He said that at a recent summit meeting in London there had been a "tangible pessimism" among UK voluntary organisations and a "general feeling that the Welfare State is finished".

However Mr Sime added: "I on the other hand am much more optimistic, and food banks are representative of a part of my optimism. It reminds me that people really do care."

Derek Marshall, chief executive of Dundee's Factory Skatepark and a church leader based in Angus, said it was not a mark of success that by the end of this year the Trussell Trust will have more food banks than Tesco has superstores. "I think food banks will only be a success when the last one closes its doors," he added.

Ewan Gurr, Scotland development officer for the Trussell Trust, said collective action was necessary to address growing need in Scotland's communities. He said: "There are many reasons why people utilise food banks and it is important that we target the underlying causes of poverty rather than placing further pressure on low-income households.

"There is more than enough food and yet we are encountering starvation and malnutrition because people cannot afford to eat.

"There is a notable rise in benefit changes which is now the second highest reason people are using food banks. This is often directly attributed to benefit sanctions and it is pushing many towards the edge."