I’ve started writing my Christmas Out and About twelve days before the big day. For those readers not acquainted with the workings of the media, editors up and down the country have now given the go ahead for Christmas articles. My granddaughter can’t sleep at night, she’s so excited. Most of my neighbour’s have their trees and lights up and on daily. Music in the shops and town centres takes us back to September 1951. In the words of Perry Como, ‘It’s beginning to feel a lot like’ – what?
Hunger in Scotland
Most people don’t associate the words ‘Hunger’ and ‘Scotland’ in the same sentence. The common perception of Hunger belongs in sub–Saharan Africa or in war zones like Ukraine or the Gaza strip. Others think of the film I, Daniel Blake.
In June this year IPSOS and the Trussell Trust published a report Hunger in Scotland. It’s worth a read. It shines a light on parts of the country most of us know little or nothing about. It totally rejects the notion that we’re all in this together. It brings out onto centre stage what most of us don’t ever think about, the fate of the poorest in our land of plenty.
The headline figures
Seventeen per cent (or their households) have experienced food insecurity in the 12 months to mid-2022; this translates to 1.7m people. This means that—at some point over this period–they have run out of food and been unable to afford more, and/or reduced meal size, eaten less, gone hungry or lost weight due to lack of money.
Of Scottish households 7% accessed support from an ecosystem of food aid across Scotland, such as receiving support from a food bank or accessing low-cost food aid from a social supermarket. This means an estimated 533,000 people were supported by food aid in Scotland.
Who’s at the greatest risk of hunger in Scotland?
More than two-thirds of people referred to food banks in the Trussell Trust network are disabled. Some groups are significantly overrepresented in the proportions experiencing food insecurity and needing to use food banks. Nearly half of households experience food insecurity. Working-age adults are much more likely to need to turn to a food bank than pensioners. This is particularly the case for single adults living alone and those not currently in paid work. Families with children are overrepresented in those who turn to food banks.
What are the causes of hunger in Scotland?
Just as there is no ‘typical’ person who is forced to use a food bank, there is also no single or simple journey that leads someone there. But, whilst there are many contributing factors, insufficient income is the fundamental driver for almost all people forced to use a food bank. The vast majority (92%) of people referred to food banks in the Trussell Trust network in mid-2022 have an income so low that they were experiencing destitution at the point at which they were supported by the food bank. These already low incomes are further destabilised by a lack of savings and having to cope with arrears and debt.
- 16% referred to a food bank in the Trussell Trust network are in a working household.
- 35% referred to a food bank in the Trussell Trust network said they received no advice from other services before their referral.
In the words of a Scottish service user who is male, 45-54,
“They’ve helped me in loads of ways. They’re always really nice. They’re not judgemental. I see people in the food bank, and I don’t judge anybody, but there are people in there and obviously they’ve got worse problems than me, whether it’s drugs and alcohol or whatever. I feel as if me as a person, I shouldn’t be using the food bank, but because of the circumstances I’m in, I’m finding I have to use it. I’m having to swallow my pride and do things that I wouldn’t normally do, if that makes any sense.”
What is to be done?
This doesn’t make easy reading, particularly if your own life experience is nothing like this. Some readers will never have been to a food bank or ever used a community food larder. Is their such a thing in your neighbourhood? If there is, do the people that organise it need any help? Do they need more donations in the winter?
I recently asked a friend what she and her partner were doing for Christmas. She told me that she was a friend of the lady that runs our food bank and community larder. She intends to help out on Christmas Day preparing a meal for people who would otherwise be on their own all day. It struck me as being heroic in the true sense of the word.
Me? I’m probably like you. Visiting family, ordering a big turkey from my local butcher and hoping to enjoy fine food and a couple of glasses of something nice. There are however others out there who will be having a Christmas that is very different to the John Lewis/Disney version.
Think of them this Christmas. They’re part of our community, part of our Scottish nation.
They deserve better in 2024.
