The number of hungry families relying on a lifeline service to put food on the table has grown drastically over the past month. has seen demand from those living on the poverty line increase, with the group now handing out 330 emergency food bags each week – a figure that has increased by 30 since the end of September. The growing figures come at a typically busy time of year for the Dumbarton-based charity, with the cost of Christmas often pushing locals into seeking help. And Foodshare trustee explained that this rise in demand has been reflected across the board. She said: “What we’re seeing across each of our projects is a rise of about 20 percent. We won’t get the figures for 2019 until about January, but across the board the rise in demand is about 20 percent consistently. “A lot of families we’re seeing have never used this service before, but with the additional challenges and costs at Christmas we see a lot more people coming to us.” The group have also relaunched their Christmas toybank, and a festive reverse advent calendar – where locals are urged to donate an item each day rather than taking one. Clair continued: “Last year 653 kids benefitted from our toybank and they got between six and 10 new toys each, but we’re only able to provide this service because of the generosity of those who live and work in West Dunbartonshire and are able to help us out. “Obviously we support families through the toybank, but at Christmas we get a lot of referrals through schools and social work. “We’ve been doing the reverse advent calendar for the past couple of years and people have been taking part, but this year we thought we’d make up our own poster with different products that we’d need and we’re hoping that the majority of donations will be with us by early December.” Despite the rise in demand however Clair remains in no doubt about her key goals for the charity. She added: “We’re always looking for ways to get to the hidden families who maybe aren’t aware that we’re here, or don’t know how to reach out for help. “Our biggest aim is to reach out to every child in poverty in West Dunbartonshire, even if that sounds ambitious.” You can donate to the charity via drop-off points including Morrison’s in Dumbarton, West Dunbartonshire Council offices in Church Street, Dumbarton, Antartex Village in Alexandria, Co-op in Alexandria and the town’s Citizens Advice Bureau. The full list is available at westdunbartonshire communityfoodshare.co.uk West Dunbartonshire foodbank sees drastic rise in demand ahead of Christmas West Dunbartonshire,West Dunbartonshire Council,Christmas,Christmas gifts,Dumbarton,Alexandria
0 Comments