A Perth minister has raged at politicians for allowing local families to become “crushed by poverty”.
Reverend Jim Stewart said he was “floored” by a request for aid from a local primary school teacher, who said many of her pupils were going hungry as their parents struggled to make ends meet.
His congregation at Letham St Mark’s sprang into action and donated more than 50 bags loaded with groceries and essential supplies.
Rev Stewart said the act of compassion had been the “saddest and proudest day” of his 22 years at the church.
“This may only be a short term solution for people, but we must tackle the root causes of poverty and do it in a dignified way,” he said.
“We can and must do better.
“I call on all of our politicians to put their differences aside and work together to create a system that provides stepping stones to hope, not mill stones of despair.”
Dozens of bags of food, toiletries and household goods have already been taken to the school, which Rev Stewart did not want to name, but the church is still accepting donations.
Some of the items will be handed to the Perth and Kinross Foodbank.
The minister said: “When my friend at the school got in touch with a request it completely floored me.
“It was Sunday night and we had just had a great day in church, and then the cold reality of just how bad things are for too many people crashed into my reality.”
He said he felt anger and compassion in equal measure: “Anger at a system that has created such despair and compassion for those who need help.
“There are so many families in our community that are hungry and being crushed by poverty.
“I thank the incredible people at the school for their courage in tackling the need head on, and the amazing people of Letham St Mark’s for responding with such love.”
Recent research by the Aberlour Childcare Trust found Letham and Muirton were the most deprived parts of Perth.
The study, led by Dr Morag Treanor, professor of child and family inequalities at Heriot-Watt University, found children living in the poorest parts of Tayside were three times more likely to die before their 25th birthday.
Local SNP councillor John Rebbeck said he agreed with the minister’s comments.
“It is austerity that has led to this,” he said.
“Letham has very strong community spirit and this is an example of how the people here pulls together to help each other.”
Mr Rebbeck praised the Letham4All community fridge project that launched this year to tackle food poverty.
