Scots foodbanks are struggling to cope with a surge in demand for their services in recent months.
Old Kilpatrick Food Parcels revealed that in one day this week they helped 44 families, compared to 299 for the whole month of June. Other foodbanks in Edinburgh, West Dunbartonshire and West Lothian have all recorded upsurges in the number of people in crisis coming to them looking for basic groceries.
Over the course of the year, Old Kilpatrick Food Parcels (OKFP) have had an almost tenfold increase in demand. Figures show that in February they provided food for 57 families but by last month they were catering for a whopping 458 households.
Despite feeding so many people recently OKFP pledged online that they will continue to be there for their community. They say they help people from all walks of life, including working parents, and thanked the donors who make their operation possible.
They said: "To everyone who continues to donate - thank you from the bottom of my heart, I honestly don’t know what we would do without your support.
"If you would like to donate you can drop off food or toiletries to our hub in Old Kilpatrick or have a collection point in your place of work and we can collect."
They have an Amazon wishlist for anyone looking to donate.
West Lothian Foodbank also helped over 300 more people than they did in the month previous.
Statistics released online by the charity reveal that in the month of July they helped 377 households, including 460 adults and 219 children. But by the end of August this had shot up to 522 households, with 643 adults and 369 children.
One Scots charity, Food for Thought in West Dunbartonshire told the Record that they are running out of stock due to a lack of donations recently and are having to use dwindling funds to buy in their own supplies.
A spokesperson said: "We have seen a massive increase in the number of people coming to us needing emergency food aid. This is coming from people from all walks of life, including families and single people.
"At the moment the amount of donations we are receiving have decreased so we are having to buy food stock to put in our food parcels.
"It would help us massively if we could get more donations in. People can donate online, if they are able, and more information about all our local drop off points can be found on our website."
Edinburgh Community Food Group help low income families with cooking and nutrition courses, and also provide food aid when they encounter people struggling. Sadly, they have also had more people visiting them looking for food in recent months.
Speaking to the Record, a spokesperson said: "We have had more enquiries than usual.
"It is our policy to never to let anyone go without food so we use funding to send out food to all food bank enquiries, or anyone that pops by and is in need of support.
"As well as this we are also now helping these people to engage with further support to help them to move on."
East Kilbide Community Foodbank say they have recorded a 27 per cent up turn in requests since the start of this year and expect demand to increase.
Last month alone they distributed 765 food parcels to 682 households, feeding 908 adults and 298 children but they say people are also coming to them for clothing as the cost of living gets tougher.
The charity are even looking to provide warm places for vulnerable citizens during the winter months.
A spokesperson explained: "We have seen more families than ever struggling to provide school uniforms for their children this year, with many sending their children back to school with last years uniform as they simply can't afford to buy new uniforms. In some cases, even those who receive the uniform grants have had to use this money for other basics instead.
"We are also in conversation with other organisations within the town around providing warm places for people to use over the winter months, in order to provide somewhere for people to go and receive warmth, community, support and advice during the colder months."
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