THE number of families with children receiving emergency food parcels in Scotland has dropped, new figures show, though the Scottish Government has acknowledged there is still work to be done to eradicate food insecurity.
Food insecurity campaign group Trussell (formerly Trussell Trust) published their yearly figures on Wednesday, revealing an 8% dip in the number of UK families using food banks following last year’s record high — but whilst Scotland has followed the downward trend, the total amount is still higher than pre-Covid levels.
Trussell reported that 239,503 food parcels were distributed in Scotland in 2024/25, a decrease from almost 265,000 in 2023/24, but still sitting slightly above the number reported for 2019/20.
The Social Justice Secretary for Scotland, Shirley-Anne Somerville (below), said: “We know that many people are still struggling as a result of the cost of living crisis and we are doing everything we can to support them — including through the Scottish Child Payment which is forecast to benefit the families of over 330,000 children in 2025/26.
“It was encouraging to see a 10% drop in the number of parcels distributed by Trussell food banks in Scotland between April 1 2024 and March 31 2025 compared to 2023/24. This shows our policies are working. However we know there is more to do.
“However, our efforts are continuing to be held back by the actions of a UK Government which is keeping in place policies like the two-child limit and is pushing 250,000 people into poverty with its cuts to support for disabled people.”
Trussell provided further insights into growing food bank usage, highlighting a stark increase of 51% compared to figures from five years ago.
A statement from the group read: “Our new annual figures show that almost three million emergency food parcels were provided by food banks in our community to people facing hunger in the past year – equivalent to one parcel every 11 seconds.
“Families with children under five have seen a 32% rise over the past five years. This should be a 'wake-up call’ for the UK Government to strengthen the social security system and re-think cuts to disability payments that risk forcing more people to food banks.”
