A Perth taxi firm is running a unique initiative to raise money for Perth and Kinross Foodbank throughout July.
Perth Radio Taxis has jumped to the charity’s aid by offering passengers £1 off any fare in return for donating food.
Drivers and staff at the company’s city centre office will be taking donations throughout the month and business owner Sandy Smith, has said the donations are flooding in, even though the campaign has not officially started.
The idea came from Sandy’s son Chris, a director at the firm, and was backed immediately by the whole team.
Radio Taxis have helped Perth residents before by making deliveries during The Beast From The East snowstorm last year.
Sandy said: “We decided to look further in to the work the foodbank does and what is needed for them to continue doing what they do so well.
“We met with the team and it was a real eye-opener just how many people depend on this and also how much is needed to keep this project running. We didn’t realise just how many people this reaches out to locally.
“We are also hoping to open people’s eyes to the stigma attached to this as the majority of us are possibly only one or two missed pay cheques away from finding ourselves in a similar situations.
“With the heightened talk of job cuts and pay offs in Perth in recent weeks the demand for this service could become a lot more for local families in the coming months.
“There is no stipulation to how big or how small the donation has to be. We just ask that the item is in date and is on the list of items accepted by the food bank.
“A great deal of us could rake through our cupboards at home and come across a few items, at least, that we will not use or forgot were even there.”
Foodbank volunteer Marjorie Clark is grateful for the campaign and is heartened to see more people supporting the service.
She said: “From the Foodbank’s perspective, we are constantly encouraged by the generosity of people in Courier Country who donate faithfully and regularly to the foodbank, but it is a sad fact that because more people are needing to use the foodbank, we need to keep on replenishing our stock.
“This initiative from Perth Radio Taxis is coming at a great time for us. We are running low on things like long-life milk and fruit juice, tinned fruit and vegetables, pasta meals and treats like crisps.
“We are still pretty well stocked with beans, soup and cereal.
“We hope the taxi passengers will help us to meet our needs for these items which are running low.”
