The Courier & Advertiser (Angus and Dundee)
Demand up 400% at city food larder
Demand at a Dundee food larder has grown by 400% since the start of 2021, with hundreds more people a week seeking help.
And a city debt advice centre has warned they fear things are only going to get worse with the return to more pressure to spend when lockdown restrictions ease next month.
Jim Sorrie, director of Fairfield Community Sports Hub who started a food larder in the Drumgeith Pavilion last May, said they had noticed a huge leap in demand during the past few months.
Jim said: “Demand for food parcels has grown here by 400% since the start of the year.
“We are seeing around 50 to 60 people coming for help in the two hours we are here in the mornings.”
Susan Glass, who is furloughed from her own job as a manager for a card company, volunteers at the larder.
“We are seeing people who are furloughed because that 20% of the wages they are losing could mean having to make the choice between feeding their families and keeping them warm,” she said.
“We are also having more visits from those who are self-employed, people like hairdressers and those who run their own business, because they are getting no income at all just now. There is also an increase in people who work in pubs.”
Among those who have been supporting the Fairfield Larder is Jim Fyffe of drinks company JF Kegs.
Jim has already donated around £10,000 to the larder and has now provided a further £2,100 worth of food vouchers that will be distributed to 49 local families.
Jim said: “I’m a Fintry lad and I’ve been lucky enough to do well for myself so I want to try to do my bit to support local families.
“People are struggling because of this pandemic and the brilliant thing is that communities are now doing everything they can to support each other – I’m delighted to be a part of that.”
There are also worries that the removal of a £20 Universal Credit uplift in October will also heap more financial pressure on to already struggling families.
Fay Costello, senior money advice worker at Brooksbank Debt and Benefits Advice Service, said there is little doubt that more people are turning to foodbanks and larders for help to feed their families.
Fay said: “I think that part of the reason for that is that because so many people have been forced into crisis because of the pandemic there is no longer the stigma attached to asking for help.”
Fay said the centre was piloting a scheme with Fairfield which sees people going to the larder referred to the Brooksbank debt advice service to see what other help and support they could be entitled to.