Elderly Scots woman has to split noodles with dog after running out of cash

dailyrecord.co.uk:

A food pantry is coming to the rescue of vulnerable Scots residents and giving their customers dignity during the cost of living crisis.

The project manager for Food, Facts, Friends, Mark Wells, from Penicuik in Midlothian has described how he has seen the need for their services more than double since they opened back in 2016.

Originally operating as a food bank, the predominantly volunteer run space evolved into a pantry after requests from parents and general users were made for a service that they could pay for, reports Edinburgh Live.Mark, 45, says that they would originally assist people from their community who were experiencing homelessness or Universal Credit sanctions but now those using the service come from key worker roles such as nursing and teaching as well as from an increasingly struggling elderly population.He even recalls an elderly woman being brought to the pantry by a member of staff at the local GP after they found she was living off of instant noodles which she divided up with her pet dog.Mark says he finds it extremely difficult and upsetting to see how many people are now coming through their doors.Back in 2016 the group would prepare roughly 160 food parcels a week but in present times that number has more than doubled alongside the use of their other services such as their zero waste shelves or community café.He added that a number of people come into the sign up community café to access a free meal or to even sit in a warm room as they cannot afford to turn on the oven or heat their home due to rising cost of energy.“Our customers were asking us for a change as with the food bank they were unable to pick what items they needed and many of them wanted the dignity of paying for what they