Food banks have been ‘extremely busy’ over winter, MSPs told

Food banks across Scotland have been “extremely busy” during winter, the Trussell Trust charity has told MSPs.

During a discussion on the Good Food Nation Bill, an MSP also described her own experiences of living in a “food insecure home”.

Holyrood’s Rural Affairs Committee heard from a number of organisations working to address food insecurity and poor nutrition.

Polly Jones, the Trussell Trust’s head of Scotland, said food banks and other charitable forms of food aid had been growing around the UK in recent years.

She said: “What makes Scotland stand out, and it’s welcome, is that there has been concerted, coordinated commitments to do something to address food insecurity and, in particular, destitution.”

She said: “We know anecdotally from many food banks across Scotland that they have seen an extremely busy winter period.”

“Winter is always very busy for people, costs are higher, heating, in particular, is higher.

“We are very worried about rising energy costs.”

Ms Jones said the Trussell Trust fully supported a right to food being enshrined in law.

SNP MSP Karen Adam shared her own experience of food insecurity as she questioned the charity representatives, saying those on low incomes were forced into “creative” uses of food.

She said: “I spent many years in a food insecure home and I understand that.

“I used to buy an eight pack of the value shop brand sausages to split between five of us.

“So I used to have to squeeze the sausage meat out the skins and mix it with breadcrumbs to try and make some kind of meatballs, mixed with a 9p value tin of soup on some rice – to try and get round five of us in the home.

“I don’t know if that was completely nutritious for us, it was probably high in salts and it was probably high in sugars.”

Ms Adam said she was concerned about targets for food supply as part of the Bill, saying there should be a more “organic, holistic approach to a good food nation”.