A food bank has issued a crisis appeal as stock is dangerously low due to heartbreakingly high demand.

Old Kilpatrick Food Parcels helped 577 households in January, compared to just 61 families the year before a more than eight-fold increase.

The hub has never seen more working families require help as the cost-of-living crisis continues to see household bills soar.

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Now the charity is desperately trying to keep afloat and stop the community going hungry but relies entirely on generous donations.

They have launched an app meaning users can donate anywhere in the world, in the hopes it will help bring in more food.

Glasgow Times:

Food bank Maureen Cummings, 55, told the Glasgow Times: “We are desperately trying to keep feeding vulnerable people.

“We need food and donations really badly, I have never seen so many empty crates and shelves, it is so awful.

“I can’t believe how much these figures are increasing with no sign of slowing down, things are bad and don’t seem to be getting better.

“We are under enormous pressure and really need some help, if people could please donate things in their house or even a pound it would make a massive difference.

“I have never seen so many working families need help to get to payday, the cost of living has really made things hard.”

Glasgow Times:

Old Kilpatrick Food Parcels helped 837 adults, 451 children, 176 cats, and 220 dogs in January alone this year.

This included 60 working families, 427 unemployed families, 91 retired pensioners, and 400 pets.

There is no funding available to the charity to purchase food meaning they must rely on the generosity of others.

They also noticed their utility bills have skyrocketed because of inflation, this meant their monthly electricity bill went from £160 last year to £689 in January.

Water bills also soared going from £25 a month up to £145 at the hub.

 

The National Lottery stepped in to support and pay their rent and utilities for the next two years to relieve the intense pressure.

We previously reported how Maureen set up Old Kilpatrick Food Parcels to help vulnerable people in her community during lockdown.

She hopes to break the stigma of using food banks after creating an open floor plan which means people don’t have to queue up for donations.

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Instead, they can shop in the pantry and take items from shelves like they would in a supermarket.

Maureen also created a community cafe across from the food bank where nothing has a price, meaning people can enjoy a hot meal and warm space.

Glasgow Times:

She explained: “I never would have thought our service would be necessary for this long.

“We opened up in 2020 to help people get through the first summer during lockdown, we thought things would get back to normal after that.

“Now we are three years on and the pandemic is over but yet things are worse than ever, every month more people need us.

“We stock the most basic things, people don’t come to us if they aren’t desperate for help and right now there are so many who need us.

“Luckily our utility bills are covered, but I can’t stress enough how much we need support to buy food.”

 

 

You can download the Old Kilpatrick Food Parcels app for free on both Android and iPhone to donate to the charity.

You can donate through its Amazon wish list by clicking here or visit the hub at Unit 5, Industrial Estate, 5 Station Road, Old Kilpatrick, Glasgow, G60 5LP.

If you are someone who is in need and want to reach out to the food bank then you can contact them on social media here or call 07368494836.

Old Kilpatrick Food Parcels are also looking for volunteers so get in touch if you have spare time you would like to donate.