The Food Bank was initially set up as a pilot scheme in 2013 with an ambition to help 300 people within the first year. However, we quickly realised the scale of food poverty was far more widespread and there was significant demand for Food Bank’s services. The number of people seeking help from the food bank in the Lochaber has risen significantly in the last few years, and increasingly so during the COVID-19 pandemic.The Food Bank is as relevant today as it has ever been. Thanks to the support of businesses and individuals, we are continuing to provide help and support where it is needed most. I’m proud of what we have achieved to date but it’s somewhat bittersweet to be celebrating the charity’s tenth anniversary because it means that today, families continue to face the situation of living without food, heat, light and hot water when they run out of money.
Alex McConachie, Manager -Lochaber Food Bank
The reasons people find themselves needing food aid fall into four categories:
- suddenly losing income / having an additional expense
- waiting for a payment or benefit decision
- living on a low income (from poorly paid work or benefit levels that don’t cover the costs of living)
- struggling with debts (often related to experiencing at least one of the above)
In 10 years we have fed 12,000 people, 3,500 of them children giving out 161,000 meals
