An Edinburgh organisation has warned they may not be able to feed families over Christmas, as they launch an urgent appeal for donations.
Empty Kitchens, Full Hearts has issued a desperate plea for help as the number of people needing meals and support has continued to rise.
After launching during the pandemic, organisers of the meals service have said an increasing number of families across Edinburgh have come to them for help, with the winter months expected to see more of the same.
With the number of people in Scotland using food banks increasing by 80 per cent since 2015, the volunteer group have now cooked and delivered over one million meals to stop locals going hungry.
Despite lockdown ending, the group have said demand is still exceptionally high, and are concerned they do not have the funds to help everyone during thee Christmas period.
READ MORE - East Lothian coastguard in emergency response amid reports of missing kayak
Dylan Childs, Operations Manager said: “When our volunteer numbers almost halved as restrictions were lifted, we had to take the heartbreaking decision to stop taking on new service users earlier this year. This is something we never wanted to do, as we believe everyone should have access to healthy food.”
It costs the organisation about £1.50 to provide one person with a package of food for one day, which will typically include soup and bread for lunch, fresh fruit or a snack, and a healthy and filling main meal. This is all delivered to service users across the city who would otherwise go without food.
With the cost of food also rising for them, Mr Childs added that without extra funding over the winter, the organisation may not be able to continue delivering the food packages.
He continued:“Food and fuel costs are only rising, so for us this means it’s more expensive to operate, and for some of the general public, it may mean making the choice between paying for food or heating this winter. It only costs us £1.50 to feed someone for a day, but when you think about the number of meals we’re providing - around 5,000 each week - these costs quickly add up.
"We’re fortunate enough to have had some funding from incredibly generous local businesses, but without donations from the public, we’re at risk of not being able to provide our service to some of Edinburgh’s most vulnerable people throughout the winter.”
One service user who’s been receiving daily food packs for almost a year said of the service in feedback to volunteers: “I want to say a massive thank you to everyone who has a part to play in providing me with food every day for many, many months now. I can honestly say you have stopped me from starving (yes, starving). You all have huge hearts: admin, cooks, drivers, packers, and anyone else I've missed. I'm ever so happy to see someone every day or two, just to say ‘hi’ and chat for 30 seconds of their time. You are true angels in disguise.”
To help support the scheme during winter, the charity have launched a crowdfunder, which you can find here..
