Perth Food Bank And YOU!

As the season of merriment and gift-giving gets underway I was struck by a Facebook post from Perth Food Bank who is looking for volunteers for an awareness event they have coming up at the end of November.  I’m going to be honest – I’ve heard of the Food Bank in Perth and I for the past year I have been saying to myself ‘I must find out more.’ And then life happens, and those little bits of good you so want to do never seem to materialise.

But having written a Christmas list that sees me buying lovely gifts for my very fortunate nieces and nephews and having spent a disproportionate amount of time already on the phone to my Mum, Sister and Brother about this year’s Christmas Dinner, I felt compelled at last to pick up the phone.

Michael Archibald is the man I meet for coffee; he’s the Chairman of the Food Bank and the person who was instrumental in getting it moving in our area. He tells me that he could see this great divide appearing between those who have and those who don’t.  He knew Perth needed a Food Bank but what wasn’t obvious was who was going to fill the gap.  Apparently, it’s not a Perth and Kinross Council issue.

Rising to the challenge, Michael decided to write to EVERY church in Perth and Kinross, asking if they would help him address this growing problem. 

“I knew they had the energy and the ability to do this. What you need in these situations is a collective who will get behind the solution and make it happen. Regardless of your religious belief, you have to accept that the Kirk is a powerful force and can make a big difference to communities when that is harnessed.”

And make it happen they did. Perth Food Bank was set up in November 2013 and has 80 volunteers across Perth, Aberfeldy, Kinross and Crieff.  They registered with The Trussell Trust and from here they were given essential advice and support for organising their effort. Crucial information such as a person’s minimum food requirements for food three days helped them manage donations effectively. Information though, is a two way street; Perth Food Bank volunteers weigh the food handed out and punch this data into a mainframe for the Trussell Trust. This is accumulated across the UK and fed back to the national press. Worryingly, the number continues to grow.

“There was a cost to join and stay in The Trussell Trust but the benefits it brings are significant. They have the relationship with Tesco that allows us to collect food from willing shoppers. It is their connections that have organised the event on 28^th – 30^th November. If you consider that in the last year half of our food donations came via that Tesco trolley then you will begin to see why it is such an important support network for us and the people we help.”

In a story that is, by its very nature, a sad reflection of today’s society, Michael surprises me by bringing in the Small City Feel Good Factor! It turns out that The Trussell Trust measure the donations made by shoppers up and down the country – and Perth has the most generous shoppers in Scotland!

“Lots of folks think that the supermarket donations are made by the supermarkets. Not so! The food in these trollies comes from the generous people who shop there and pick up items from our shopping list.   It is the people of Perth who have donated and it is thanks to them we have been able to continue to help the most vulnerable people in our society.”

I want to know who uses the Food Bank and how they go about proving that they need a parcel.  Michael explains that there are vouchers given out by doctors, social services, The Salvation Army and ministers.  The person of authority will outline how many people there are in a family and a single Three Day Food Box is handed over for each person stipulated.

What I learn next shocks, saddens and angers me in a way I find difficult to explain.

“You know people think that we’re feeding the homeless or drug addicts.  In some cases we do, but there are actually organisations such as Cath House already set up to help the really vulnerable – I’m not saying the system is perfect but they are there. One of the biggest issues in today’s society is the zero hour contract.  People who have a job, therefore they are not on benefits, but who are at the mercy of employers who can legally give them 8 hours one week, 20 the next and nothing the next. It is iniquitous, and I am appalled that in this day and age we’re back to a situation where The Kirk has to look after the poor.  Between this and benefit sanctions, we’re forcing a gap between rich and poor.”

Perth Food Bank helped 2,770 individual people in their first year and has given out around 21.8 tonnes of food. This has come from donations of tins and packets into churches and their base at 3 Back Wynd in Bridge End plus the daily donations that come in via shoppers filling the trolley in Perth’s Tesco supermarkets.  They are organised by the wonderful Les Paskin, who works on a honorarium  basis, and co-ordinates pick-ups, packaging and parcels from their base in Perth out to Aberfeldy, Crieff and Kinross.  

“The generosity of the Perth people never fails to amaze me. It has been a staggering first year and we are delighted to be known as Scotland’s most generous area. And, just for the record, we were 2^nd in the whole of the UK! However, we do need more. More volunteers, more parcels and more support. Our overheads for the office and store are substantial and this is all paid for from our financial donations. There is no big cheque from a government body. I want to make a big impact at our awareness weekend and raise the profile of the charity so that we might carry on supporting people through difficult times.”

By the time I leave Michael I am humbled by the achievements of the 80 volunteers throughout Perthshire and Kinross.  I also feel immensely lucky to wake up every day and be paid a fair wage to do something that I love. Finally, I feel fortunate to be in a position that allows me to ask each of you to help Michael make his weekend happen.

He needs to fill 180 man hours, between 9am and 6pm over three days on the 28^th, 29^th and 30^th November. You can volunteer for as little as one hour, up to the full day. You’d be handing out shopping lists to people as they enter the store and asking them if they’d like to pick up an item on the list for donation that weekend.  Easy Peasy – one wee hour of your time to make a real difference.

If you can’t make this weekend but you’d like to help you can do one of three things:

1. Donate items of food from the Food Bank shopping list - one tin or ten tins, it all helps. This will be allocated into parcels by Les and the team of volunteers.
2. You can make a financial contribution to help with overheads and buying fresh, everyday essentials such as bread and milk.
3. You can volunteer on a weekly or monthly basis. Les and the team ask that you do a minimum of 2 hours each month, Monday to Friday, 2pm – 4pm. 

To find out more email Les Paskin on info@perthkinross.foodbank.org.uk.

I like to think of myself as socially aware; I wasn’t brought up with a lot of money and I have first-hand experience of friends from my childhood finding themselves in situations that my new middle-class pals only read about in the news.  I feel extremely lucky every day with my life and the people I have supporting and nurturing me. The old saying, “There but by the grace of God go I” is one that we all need to think about from time to time. Life has a weird old way of dishing out the cards and you never know what might happen to you.  

And you know, doing something good just because you can is one of the best feelings you’ll ever experience – all for the price of a tin of beans. 

Perth Food Bank - Facebook – Website

Trussell Trust - Facebook – Website – Twitter

Thanks to Louis Flood for the image of Oakbank Primary School and their work for Perth Food Bank.