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COURIER OPINION: Pressure on local foodbanks is a national scandal

Volunteers at local foodbanks are facing intense pressure as demand grows due to the cost of living crisis.
Volunteers at local foodbanks are facing intense pressure as demand grows due to the cost of living crisis.

Our local foodbanks do incredibly worthy work.

But it is nothing short of a national disgrace that they need to exist in the first place.

By most standards, the UK is a wealthy country.

It says a huge amount about the priorities of government – and the wider distribution of wealth – that so many people are regularly having to rely on foodbank handouts.

Kirkcaldy Foodbank is just one of many across Scotland providing support to families facing food poverty – a glib phrase which hides the reality of adults and children who cannot rely on having at least one square meal to eat each day.

The Kirkcaldy foodbank has seen demand for its services grow as the cost of living crisis deepens.

Its people and financial resources are being stretched to the limit.

And there is worse to come on the horizon – for Kirkcaldy and other local foodbanks – as financial pressures continue to grow.

It is a depressing picture, locally and nationally, and it is one that needs to be taken
seriously and addressed at scale.

Otherwise, what is already a national scandal will only get worse

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