The Courier & Advertiser (Angus and Dundee)
New-style foodbank broadens its remit
Community Pantry will offer debt advice and other services
A new Angus foodbank will offer debt advice and basic cooking skills for clients as “much more than food is needed” to help the disadvantaged.
Brechin Community Pantry will offer IT classes and a fridge to stop businesses throwing away food, and hopes are high that local tradespeople will “pay it forward” with low-cost help for those who struggle.
Unlike most foodbanks, it will not depend on a referral system from care or welfare professionals.
The announcement came following eyeopening statistics from the Trussell Trust, which showed a 9% increase on usage last year.
Food coordinator Janet Warnes said: “There is so much more needed than just food, and there are people who want to help.”
An Angus plan to help feed the minds and bodies of the most vulnerable will launch this summer, following calls for a “coherent strategy” on tackling Scottish food poverty.
The independent Brechin Community Pantry on Swan Street will join the county’s network of foodbanks in Forfar, Arbroath and Montrose.
But, unlike a standard collection service, volunteers will also provide debt counselling, IT skills, basic cooking skills, a free food fridge and clothing to people in Brechin and Edzell area – without the need for referral.
They have thanked local MSP and outgoing councillor Mairi Evans for a £1,000 donation which allowed the venture to get “out of the starting blocks.”
Volunteer Janet Warnes said: “It gave us the resources and the impetus to turn an idea into reality. It has had both an immediate and long-lasting impact.
“Coming into a foodbank is one of the hardest things for people to do and
“The most important thing was giving these groups the money and I hope, even in a small way, I’ve been able to help them.
MAIRI EVANS MSP
we’ve seen people come in in tears. But there is so much more needed than just food, and there are people who want to help.
“We want to have a bank of professional people, with the idea that if something breaks down in a house and there’s no money, we could have someone on hand to help.”
The opening was announced after the trust said foodbank use in Scotland has reached record levels, with more than 145,000 emergency food parcels given to people in crisis in 2016-17 – the equivalent of Dundee’s population.
The trust’s Ewan Gurr said the Scottish Government needs “a clear and coherent strategy” on food poverty.
Ms Evans, who steps down as a councillor at Thursday’s elections, gave her five-figure member income to charities and local groups, including Inch Maintenance and Preservation Society and Brechin Defibrillator.
“The most important thing was giving these groups the money and I hope, even in a small way, I’ve been able to help them,” she revealed.
“But I think there is a misconception that when I was elected as MSP that I was staying on as a councillor to top up my own bank account.
“When I was elected as an MSP in May I had two choices – see out the final year of my term as a councillor or quit and provoke a by-election.
“The cost of a by-election in Angus is around £21,500. Add in a year’s councillor salary and that figure would swell towards £40,000.”