One in seven families are living in poverty in parts of the Highlands, it was claimed yesterday.
Lochaber Foodbank, in Fort William, has released its annual figures showing that more people than ever are accessing its services.
It concluded that one in seven householders faced poverty in the west coast region.
In Oban, Hope Kitchen has already run out of food from the donations received at Christmas that would normally last for a year.
And in Inverness, an annual scheme for families to provide food over December and January has seen an “unprecedented” rise in people asking for help.
Lochaber Foodbank manager Alex McConachie gave a stark warning about poverty in the region. He said: “One in seven people in Lochaber are now affected by poverty.
“This is due to low income wages, seasonal work, universal credit delays and benefit sanctions.
“When we first started, in 2013, we helped 600 people, last year we helped more than 1,300 people.
“The main reason people come to us is because of benefit delays, low income and people who just do not have the money to feed themselves.”
One food bank user, who did not want to be named, said getting access to its services helped keep him alive.
He said: “I had a home assessment for my personal independence payment about a month ago.
“On Saturday I found out that I had been graded as zero need for all measures, and from today will no longer get a payment.
“My benefit payments have been halved almost overnight.
“If it wasn’t for the food bank – the government would have effectively ended my life.”
And Alex Gilchrist, general manager of Gateway in Inverness, said: “This year was our busiest ever, I don’t know if that is because more people know that we have help to give or more families are living in poverty – I believe it is the latter.
“This year, I was amazed at the poverty and the lack of funds that people are living with. People are struggling to provide the basics and put food on the table.”
In Oban, food parcel supplies donated in December that would have previously lasted until the next big influx at harvest time, have already diminished.
Oban’s Hope Kitchen manager, Lorraine King, said: “At Christmas time we had all these donations and our cupboard was full, but very quickly in 2019 we have seen this used up.
“The demand for our food parcels has gone up by 50% from this time last year. We are giving out food parcels to 25 families a month.
“We have been in touch with Tesco, who have now left a permanent trolley out to collect donations for us.
“We are not looking for luxury items – people are needing the basics to feed their families.
“We have set up a text donation scheme so people can donate £3, £5 or £20, and I am hoping people will think of us on pay day to make a donation.”
