More and more food banks are becoming the norm and that is just not acceptable

The Community One Stop Shop in Broomhouse, Edinburgh, started as an advice centre in 2003 and set up a food-bank service six years ago in response to demand.

Around 200 people attend each month, including Michael Dickson, who has been using the service for around three months.

He said: “I was homeless and had just got a flat. I was in debt with bills and it got worse. It was hard to budget and they helped me do that here.

“They give us food and help for my dog. I come once a month. It’s brilliant here – the girls who run it are good.”

Another Community One Stop Shop user, Michelle, said: “My husband was on minimum wage and I used this food bank a number of times until it helped me and my family get back on our feet.”

Carol Swan, project manager at Community One Stop Shop, said most people used the food bank due to benefit issues but many were also “working poor”.

She said: “We feel really strongly that people should not be just given bags of food, so we have an advice provider in the office to ask people what is going on and if we can help.

“We also have an employability adviser on the premises.

“Our hope is we can help them get problems even partly resolved so they don’t have to come back to us. That’s the gold standard.

“For many people they are trapped in a cycle of poverty they just can’t break.”

She added: “Food poverty has been around for hundreds of years, there has always been soup kitchens and things like that.

“But more and more food banks are becoming the norm and that is not acceptable.”