SOARING numbers of Scots are relying on charitable food parcels amid falling incomes and welfare cuts, with claims of a "Dickensian" existence for those who can't afford to eat.
Thousands are using food banks – with The Trussell Trust, which feeds around 6000 Scots a year, announcing it will double its branches to 13 by the end of the year. Up to 30 are due to open by 2014 to cope with demand, a spokesman said yesterday.
Welfare reforms and rising food prices have been cited as the cause of this demand with food banks – which are supplied by organisations including churches and businesses – braced for further pressure on services next year as cuts to benefits take hold.
Concerns have been raised over the "hidden hunger" of working families who are coping with redundancies, mortgage arrears and falling incomes. But food banks are also being set up in traditionally better-off areas.
The Trussell Trust is one of a number of organisations that run food banks in Scotland, with the Salvation Army, Destiny's Angels and church group St Vincent de Paul, all reporting an upsurge in need.
Citizens Advice Scotland (CAS) said the number of its clients seeking food aid has doubled to 2200 in the past two years. Margaret Lynch, chief executive of CAS, said: "The report reveals a Dickensian situation facing many of Scotland's low-paid workers and people who rely on welfare benefits.
"Charities like the Salvation Army and St Vincent de Paul have always been there to provide assistance for families facing a crisis who temporarily could not feed themselves. In this recession, there has been an exponential increase in the number of working families and people on benefits needing help to feed their children and themselves.
"The national minimum wage has failed to keep pace with the massive increase in food prices over the past five years, leaving many low-income families facing food insecurity."
The Trussell Trust, which gives food to cover three-day emergency periods, said it was due to open a food bank in Lewis, Stornoway, where only 8% of residents live in deprivation.
Ewen Gurr, development officer in Scotland, said: "The need is everywhere, including areas which have traditionally been more affluent.
"The main concern for us is where, overnight, a father has lost his job and can no longer afford the mortgage payments.
"Often mum and dad will go without food so the children can be fed. They are people who have been grafters who haven't needed help before. What we want to say to them is not to feel a sense of indignity.
"When we see our numbers shooting up we don't know whether to celebrate or cry. On one hand we are devastated there is such poverty and hidden hunger, but on the other we are delighted there is such a positive response to this problem."
Destiny's Angels runs six food banks in Scotland and the north of England. Susan Coupland, of the Gorbals branch, said it was helping about 70 families a week – up from 30 this time last year.
A Department for Work and Pensions spokesman said: "The benefits system provides a safety net to cover costs such as food and housing, and these benefits increase every year in line with inflation. We provide emergency financial support through crisis loans if people are in trouble."
But CAS said benefit claimants can only apply for three crisis loans a year, adding this limit may have contributed to an greater reliance on food banks.
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