Nobody should be living like this in 2019
A new food and clothing bank, set up to serve Shotts and its nearby villages, has received a cash windfall. Paul’s Parcels only began handing out food at the start of this year but have been given a £2,000 grant from Radio Clyde’s Cash For Kids charity. The organisation, which also operates as a clothing bank, takes its name in memory of founder Tracey Duffy’s brother Paul who died four years ago aged just 37. Tracey, 47, said: “Paul did a lot of charity work and worked for the Scottish Association for Mental Health (SAMH). “He was the youngest of seven and we all took it very hard. “He went into hospital three months after my dad had died so it was a difficult time. “Paul went in with a swollen leg and never came home. He was put in an induced coma before his organs failed. “He was always looking to help people and when we were starting the foodbank we couldn’t think of anything else. He was so well thought off.” Tracey and partner Gerry Mccann have been operating the charity from their home in Muldron Terrace and are on the lookout for premises as demand for the service increases.
Referrals can be given from health visitors at Shotts Health Centre and by staff at the GBT Shotts Centre or Chris’s House in Wishaw.
“There’s no denying that it can be tough,” said Tracey.
“You can’t believe people are living like this in 2019.
“We deliver the food parcels out and you can see kids literally grabbing the food as soon as you put it down.
“Families are distraught and not just with the food situation but struggling to pay other bills.
“We spoke to one man who had no gas for a month and only had 95p on his electricity meter.”
As well as receiving the windfall from Cash For Kids, a fundraising race night for the charity was also held last week.
This is ahead of a clothes giveaway at the end of the month.
Tracey’s partner Gerry, 42, added: “There are so many people who are in food poverty and can barely afford clothes which is terrible.
“At the moment we are helping eight families per week with another 10 which we see roughly once every fortnight.
“People tend to feel embarrassed by going to a foodbank but we actually deliver to the person’s home which I think makes a difference.
“We also try and give people fresh items such as meat, milk and bread. We are getting a lot of support from the community but we could always do with more.
“Tracey’s the driving force. She’s always been good at getting things done.”
For more information on Paul’s Parcels visit the groups’ Facebook page.