Emergency food parcel distribution in Scotland April – September 2023 Background

Our recent research found that the design of the disability benefits system was putting disabled people in impossible situations and too often leaving them with too little income to cover the essentials.11 Almost three in four (73%) people referred to food banks in Scotland are disabled.12 8 The research is based on an online survey by the Trussell Trust of 184 food banks in the Trussell Trust net. [...] It is a 41% increase in the number of families using a food bank in the network in Scotland for the first time compared to the same period in 2021 and a 3% increase from the same period in 2022.22 “The general cost of living has caused people from all walks of life to have to use our services as nobody's money goes as far.” “People in work struggling with the cost of living has meant more people a. [...] Some food banks in the network, as 25 Destitution in the UK 2023 (2023), Joseph Rowntree Foundation, 26 The research is based on an online survey by the Trussell Trust of 184 food banks in the Trussell Trust network across the UK. [...] Polling by YouGov on behalf of the Trussell Trust suggests that the public are particularly concerned with issues related to poverty and hunger in the UK and the majority of people in Scotland (85%) think that food banks should not be needed in the UK.30 When it comes to how poverty and hunger can be solved in the UK, the vast majority (90%) people in Scotland believe ensuring everyone has enough. [...] What this means for policy We welcome the action taken by the UK Government during the last two years to help mitigate the impact of the cost of living crisis, particularly the decision last Autumn to uprate benefits with inflation and the provision of Cost of Living Payments.