An Inverness-based charity providing essential support for those in need has received a welcome funding boost
Register for free to read more of the latest local news. It's easy and will only take a moment.
Highland Foodbank has been awarded £20,000 from the Inverness Common Good Fund to help maintain services as user levels continue to increase.
The food bank, run by Highland-based charity Blythswood Care, provides emergency food supplies to people across the region who are facing financial crisis and would otherwise struggle to feed themselves.
Between April 2020 and March last year 2736 people had reason to turn to the food bank in Inverness for support.
Staff are now worried they will see a further uptake in use following the ending of the £20 per week uplift in Universal Credit and the furlough scheme, both introduced during the Covid pandemic.
The fund will help to contribute to the running costs of the project’s base in Inverness’s Glebe Street.
The premises was secured in 2018 and has a custom-designed lounge and meeting room to provide a more homely and welcoming atmosphere for clients.
Food is donated by members of the community, businesses, churches and schools, and there are more than 100 partner agencies which refer clients for support.
In its application for Common Good Fund support the charity said: “The Foodbank Centre aims to offer a welcoming space where, besides getting food, clients can discuss their current issues should they wish to do so, and be signposted to other appropriate agencies should this be necessary and should they wish to be referred.”
The project costs £84,109 a year to run and added: “Over the 16 years since Highland Foodbank was established, there has been a year-on-year increase in demand for its services and all indication’s suggest that an increased level of usage is likely to continue. This reflects national trends.”
To donate go to https://blythswood.org/donate-to-foodbank/
