Food poverty campaigners fear lives will be lost in West Lothian if the cost of living crisis isn’t tackled head on.
People who volunteer at the West Lothian Foodbank have been dealing with people who say they feel suicidal due to the pressure of not being able to make ends meet.
Many others say they won’t be putting the heating on this winter, leading to fears people will freeze to death.
For the past few years West Lothian Foodbank has supported people through crises – but the charity said it has faced nothing on the scale of the cost of living crisis.
It has been handing out more meals to more families than ever, but those who run the foodbank say that since the cost of fuel and food has risen, they have seen donations plummet, as people who could have afforded to help in the past tighten their belts.
They desperately need people to donate food so
they can continue to help those most in need around West Lothian.
Manager Kathleen Neilly says she fears the worst for people, adding her staff have already had to cope with clients telling them they feel suicidal because of the pressure.
She told The Courier she had no idea how some families will cope this winter and that more needs to be done by governments in Holyrood and Westminster.
She said: “This is the calm before the storm, because it’s only going to get worse.
“We’re really struggling for donations, we’ve already had to cut back what we put in the pack and are actually considering cutting it back again.
“We actually need donations of everything – except pasta.
“We’ve opened up a couple of distribution centres again, so we’re trying to get people to come out and collect the food for themselves.
“We’ve opened up in Carmondean and every single person who came in said they can’t afford their electricity bill just now. How will they manage in the winter?
“There’s nothing you can say to them, there’s nothing else they can cut back on.
“I’m terrified. I don’t know how people will cope.”
Kathleen said she hopes there won’t be any further rise in the energy cap but also she believes businesses should not be exempt from that cap, as they are now.
Kathleen continued: “I always feel it’s the people who are only just doing alright who donate to us, it’s not the people with loads of money, but now they don’t have as much disposable income, that’s why our donations have dropped.”
Kathleen said it’s important people don’t struggle on their own but get in touch to find out the many ways the foodbank can help.
The charity also runs workshops offering tips on how people can save money and the Christians Against Poverty debt centre, to help people with their debt and budgeting.
Kathleen said there is also the West Lothian Food Map, where people can search online and find out where they can get cheaper food.
“People will die because of this, lives will be lost either because people are depressed or they won’t put their heating on.
“We need the government to step in now and do something.”
For more information about the foodbank and how to donate, visit https://westlothian.foodbank.org.uk/ and for where to access cheaper food and the West Lothian food map visit https://www.westlothian.gov.uk/article/48304/Access-to-Food.
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