West Lothian Foodbank celebrates 10th anniversary in year it's never been so vital

dailyrecord.co.uk:

This year marks the 10th anniversary of the West Lothian Foodbank, which has spent the last decade providing compassion, guidance and expert support to people who had nowhere else to turn.Since the foodbank was established in 2012/3, it has provided 32,055 food parcels to people within the local community.And its service has never been more vital than now.New figures from the Trussell Trust revealed that foodbanks in Scotland experienced their busiest six months on record for April to September as they provide 116,000 emergency food parcels in six months.Some 40,000 parcels were provided for children between April and September 2022 – a 29 per cent increase on the previous year – the most parcels ever distributed for children by foodbanks in the Trussell Trust network.West Lothian Foodbank relies on the generosity of its community, but the need for support is greater than ever as we enter the toughest ever winter.A typical emergency food parcel consists of items such as cereal, tinned fruit and vegetables, canned meat and fish, tea, coffee, biscuits, UHT milk, pasta and rice.Kathleen Neilly, Manager of West LothianFoodbank, said: “When you look back over the last 10 years it’s hard to believe we have provided over one million meals.“I’m blown away with the generosity of our local people with food, money, and the time of our army of volunteers.

We could not run without this support.“I’m sad to say in recent months, the need for emergency food parcels is outstripping the number of donations we are receiving.“This winter will be our toughest ever, but we will continue to support the people who need us.“Everyone at West Lothian Foodbank is grateful to our local community for their generosity and we know as we get into winter