Fort William Food Bank is marking its 10th anniversary with a less than full storeroom and an appeal for more donations to help local people get through difficult times.
Since opening its doors at Aird’s Crossing at the ‘library’ end of the High Street, the volunteers have given out 162,000 meals to 12,000 people, with 3,500 of them being children.
Set up initially as a pilot scheme aiming to help around 300 people in their first year, that number was quickly exceeded, proving that its existence was much needed in the area.
In more recent years the numbers have again escalated, especially since Covid, and now with rising prices in the basic cost of living.
Today the Food Bank is busier than ever, so much so that the storeroom is almost empty and with more and more people feeling the pinch, donations to replace them have fallen off considerably with the charity having to dig into its own funds to actually buy the food and other items they supply.
With Christmas approaching the Food Bank has launched a ‘Reverse Advent Calendar’ asking people to give an item each day rather then being given something.
This, they hope will help them ensure that all of their users will have enough food to celebrate the Festive Season.
Lochaber Food Bank Manager Alex McConachie said: “We have found that there are four main reasons people need to seek food aid.
“Suddenly losing income or having additional expense, waiting for a benefit payment or a decision on benefit payment, living on a low income from poorly paid work or benefit levels that don’t cover the cost of living, or struggling with debts (probably related to one of the other reasons).
“For us it is really a bittersweet experience to be marking our 10th anniversary because it means that today families continue to face the situation of living without food, heat, light and hot water as they have run out of money.”
At the moment the food bank’s store holds only a fraction of the stock it would normally have at this time of year, with donations to collection points in local supermarkets at one of the lowest points ever.
Food bank volunteer Sue Grant said: “At the moment we have more bags for life than we have things to put in them and this have never happened before.
“Please, if you can donate in-date food to us as well as toiletries, boxes of Christmas biscuits or sweets, they will all be put to good use and help make someone else’s Christmas a little bit happier.”