Shoppers have been urged to buy less food this Christmas – and use the savings to help struggling families enjoy a festive dinner.
The Press and Journal has teamed up with foodbank charities in the north and north-east in an attempt to prevent people going hungry while others celebrate.
And Aberdeen’s Lord Provost George Adam issued the heartfelt plea to better-off households as he threw his weight behind the appeal.
Community Food Initiatives North East (CFine) and Highland Food Bank are gearing up to deliver seasonal supplies to those in the most need.
Hundreds of packs containing the ingredients for a December 25 spread as well as other essentials will be going out right across the area.
But the massive logistical exercise – much of it relying on volunteers’ efforts – needs the financial support of generous readers to keep going.
Demand for emergency food assistance has soared in recent years as the economic downturn hits incomes and welfare reforms start to bite.
Once a low-key operation benefiting a tiny number, food banks have quickly become a year-round lifeline for many thousands in the area.
It is at this time of year though, with scenes of happy families tucking in to festive feasts all around, that desperation can really hit.
“Christmas for many is a time of joy and hope,” said Dave Simmers, chief executive of CFine.
“But for some it is a time of despair, reinforcing their poverty and, often, their isolation and loneliness.”
Highland Food Bank coordinator Lorna Dempster said: “It’s always distressing when you don’t know where the next meal is coming from – but it’s especially hard at Christmas, when everyone else seems to be celebrating.”
The lord provost had his eyes opened about life on the breadline when he lived for a week on £2 a day as part of a CFine fundraising campaign earlier this year.
Mr Adam said the experience really brought home to him “just how hard it is for people when they can’t afford to feed themselves or their family”.
He urged anyone stocking up their fridges and cupboards ahead of Christmas to stop to consider whether they really needed it.
“Think twice about loading up your supermarket trolley with all that extra food, food that you will only waste,” he said.
“Around a third of the food and drink we buy is binned – 600,000 tonnes in Scotland every year.
“It’s disgraceful. We have to stop.
“Instead why not just buy what you need and give the money you save to feed others.
“I would encourage anyone who can, to give as much as they can, to this campaign.
