Food parcel handouts in Renfrewshire & East Renfrewshire have reached a record number, according to new figures.
In Renfrewshire, from April 2017 to March 2018, there was 8,681 three day emergency food parcels handed out by Renfrewshire Foodbank to those in need of help, a 20% increase on the same period last year.
In the previous year, between April 2016 and March 2017, there were 7,215 handouts.
There was also an 8% increase in East Renfrewshire. From April 2017 to March 2018 there was 3,566 three day emergency food supplies handed out. An increase from 3,302 from the same period the year before, April 2016 and March 2017.
In Scotland, more than 170,000 three-day emergency food supply parcels were distributed by The Trussell Trust’s 52 Scottish food banks in 2017/2018 period, a 17% increase in demand overall.
The figures were released by The Trussell Trust. They run a network of over 400 food banks, giving emergency food and support to people in crisis across the UK. During the period April 2017 to March 2018, the trust distributed 1,332,952 three day emergency food supply parcels to people in crisis across the whole of the UK, a 13% increase on the previous year.
The trust reports that 484,026 of these were given to children.
Gavin Newlands, SNP MP for Paisley and Renfrewshire North, said: “It’s a disgrace that the number of people having to rely on emergency food parcels in Renfrewshire has risen again. Renfrewshire Foodbank has been one of the busiest in the country for some time now and I’m concerned that the upcoming Universal Credit rollout in Renfrewshire later this year will only increase the number of people having to rely on their support.
“Tory policies are making it harder for families to cover the basic costs of food, housing, and bills and it’s vital that the UK government finally takes meaningful action to boost incomes. This must include delivering a real living wage, ending the public sector pay cap, and reversing the benefits freeze to help ensure families have enough money to live on.
“The staff and volunteers at the Renfrewshire Foodbank deserve fantastic credit for their commitment to help others. As the local MP, I will continue to support the Renfrewshire Foodbank at every opportunity, but I will also continue to challenge the Tories’ austerity agenda which is forcing more and more families to have to rely on foodbanks.”
Mhairi Black MP, SNP MP for Paisley and Renfrewshire South, said: “It’s a disgrace that over 8000 families in Renfrewshire are having to rely on emergency food parcels just to get by in austerity Britain.
“Millions of families across the UK are suffering from a Tory pay cut – as rising prices, stagnant wages, and cuts to social security continue to squeeze living standards and push households into poverty, debt and crisis.
“My office regularly provides food bank vouchers to constituents who are destitute because the system has failed them. We also accept food donations in the office and drop these off at the local food bank.
“Food banks should not have to exist, but while we have a Tory UK government actively putting more and more people into poverty they are a necessity. The Tories are letting down the very people that they are supposed to protect
“Families cannot afford another year of Tory cuts. It is vital that the UK government finally takes meaningful action to boost incomes. This must include delivering a real living wage, ending the public sector pay cap, and reversing the benefits freeze to help ensure families have enough money to live on.”
The SNP has called on the UK government to reverse the benefits freeze and introduce a real living wage to help ensure families have enough money to live on.
Tom Arthur, SNP MSP for Renfrewshire South constituency, said: “These figures are incredibly disappointing to read, and it’s of great concern to see so many people in my constituency have required this help.
“The Trussell Trust have also highlighted that impact that Universal Credit rollout has on areas they serve, with a 53% increase in foodbank use where it has been fully implemented.
“With Universal Credit planned on being implemented in my constituency from September this year, I worry that this poorly implemented reform will impact on the most vulnerable.
“As my recent question to the Minister for Social Security showed, the Scottish Government is putting as much support in place as they can and supporting families through the Scottish Welfare Fund, but Universal Credit service must be improved.
“It is heart-breaking that children here have been reliant on food bank supplies, but I am forever grateful to the staff, volunteers and those who donate for helping those who require it, and my office continues to accept food bank donations.”
Neil Bibby, Labour MSP for West Scotland feels that the SNP Government in Edinburgh should take some of the blame.
He said: “These figures are absolutely despicable, and they should shame the Tory and SNP Government’s into action. Over 29,000 three-day emergency food parcels were distributed by the Trussell Trust in the West Scotland Region last year – that’s nearly 20% of the total number of parcels distributed by the Trussell Trust in the whole of Scotland. If that wasn’t shocking enough, nearly 9,000 of those food parcels went to children in our region.
“The figures only give us an indication of the scale of foodbank use in society today, as the Trussell Trust only account for two-thirds of all foodbanks in the UK. There are also hundreds of independent food aid providers, so the total number of emergency food parcels distributed across the UK will unfortunately be higher.
“Rather than relying on the generosity of others and the volunteers who work in foodbanks, the Tory Government should end its austerity programme, and the SNP Government should cease in acting as a conveyor belt for Tory cuts.
“Scottish Labour want to deliver a £5 a week increase to Child Benefit, which would lift 30,000 children out of poverty. Given the number of children relying on foodbanks in West Scotland, I expect SNP and Tory MSP’s representing the region to do the same.”
Elizabeth Alexander, Renfrewshire Foodbank manager, told Renfrewshire News: “It’s very worrying to see the figures rising and it would be lovely to see people not being left without money and not having to use food banks.
“This could be the case if there were plenty of jobs and there wasn’t a gap in peoples benefits payments.
“We take in over 90 tons of food donations and give them back out and we can only do that thanks to the people of Renfrewshire who donate the food with donations through their workplaces and various collections.”
“Everyone is so generous and when the demands for donations goes up, the donations have increase and we’re so thankful for that. We couldn’t do the work we do without it.”