IT WAS exactly a fortnight ago to the day that I was standing on a Friday afternoon handing out shopping lists to the customers pouring into Tesco Extra for the Neighbourhood Food Collection. Despite Baltic temperatures outside, I observed the warmth in the hearts of the shoppers who, while collecting for their own families, purchased items for those who may be facing more difficult circumstances this Christmas. One particular woman approached us with a full trolley of food and lifted out a small bag she had purchased for herself, saying: “I cannot bear to put my head on the pillow knowing there are families out there going hungry.”
There is no question public generosity is something worthy of celebration. That more than half a million meals were collected in Scotland over a fortnight ago is a testimony to the selflessness and generosity of our people. This week, I observed a consistent stream of people dropping off donations in a busy food bank and even my three-year-old son collected food which was dropped off at his local nursery for the local food bank I managed for seven years. For some individuals, Christmas can be a lonely time, isolated by circumstances beyond their control and without anything to eat. Then there are families struggling on tight budgets where increased winter fuel bills and the absence of free school meals can be the decisive factor between a warm home and a warm meal.
But there are others who are undoubtedly outraged that public generosity is required to stem the flow of people falling through a social security net that desperately needs to be restrung. William Beveridge, the founder of the welfare state, faced criticism when he defended the proposals for state-supported welfare provision following the First World War, saying: “Adventure came not from the half-starved, but from those who were well fed enough to feel ambition.” I wondered how Beveridge would feel if he were still living and was confronted with the fact that 5,484 men, women and children in Scotland were referred to food providers in 2014 because that security system he passionately supported had not worked.
Yesterday afternoon, while in Dundee food bank, I met Jane who was a managing supervisor of a small workforce and recently made redundant due to staff cutbacks. Jane was overwhelmed when she saw how much food there was for her and her two children. She cited a delay in benefits as the reason for her referral to the food bank. The Scottish Government finance minister, John Swinney, presented his draft budget and highlighted ways in which the government are trying to mitigate cuts to the Scottish Budget but the truth is that cuts cost and it is those on the lowest incomes that pay the highest price for those cuts.
Ewan Gurr is Scotland Network Manager of The Trussell Trust
17,000 men, women and children in Scotland will be referred to food banks this month
The National View: Food banks: Blight on society growing fastest in Scotland
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