A charity which runs foodbanks says the number of people taking handouts in Scotland has risen by 400% in the last year.
The Trussell Trust has set up 40 foodbanks which have collected almost 700 tonnes of donations and another five facilities are in the planning.
The number of people helped has risen from 14,318 in 2012/13 to 71,428 from April 2013 to the end of March this year. Of this figure, the Trussell Trust says 22,387 are children.
Among the areas with the highest number of people using foodbanks is Dundee, with 5,990 adults and children supported in the city last year, up from 3,379 in the previous year.
Fife’s four foodbanks helped 4,536 people in 2013/14, while in the previous year the Kingdom had only one foodbank which handed out parcels to 508 people.
Falkirk’s foodbank opened in November 2012 and gave handouts to 456 people. That figure rose to 5,132 for the whole of last year.
Foodbanks in Angus, launched in October 2012, have supported 1,426 adults and children in the last year, up from 258.
Perth and Kinross foodbank, launched just six months ago, has already helped 1,426 people.
The trust insists benefit delays and changes and low income are the main reasons for the increased use of foodbanks.
The charity says 28% of referrals were due to benefit delays, 19% due to benefit changes and 19% due to low income.
Ewan Gurr, Scotland development officer for the Trussell Trust, said: “Foodbanks are an incredible community response to crisis but the pressure people are experiencing in Scotland is cause for concern.
“Benefit delays highlight a faulty infrastructure that can instantaneously plunge people into food poverty and the close relationship between low income and benefit changes highlight that currently, welfare provision is neither working for those in part-time work nor those seeking work.”
Chairman of the trust, Chris Mould, insisted the figures are “just the tip of the iceberg” and has called for “determined policy action” to help the poorest in society.
He said: “Changing the sanctions regime, increasing the minimum wage, introducing the living wage and looking at other measures such as social tariffs for essentials like energy would help address the problem of UK hunger.”
The Scottish Government recently announced a £1 million package of support for charities that provide emergency food.
Head of Oxfam Scotland, Jamie Livingstone, welcomed the funding but warned that more must be done.
He said: “We need a long-term solution across the UK to provide adequate support to the poorest in our society and to address the root causes of food poverty. The trust has also been awarded £944,708 to employ a team of staff who will provide training, support and guidance to foodbanks in Scotland.
Big Lottery Fund Scotland chairwoman Maureen McGinn, said: “Over five years our award to The Trussell Trust will help support around 400,000 people across the country who are struggling.”
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