Caithness CAB chief ‘blown away’ by impact of food insecurity project

A collaborative project is helping to tackle poverty in Caithness by boosting awareness of benefits that are going unclaimed.

In its first five months the initiative has brought more than £90,000 into the county and it is helping to reduce people’s dependence on food parcels.

Caithness Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB) is teaming up with Caithness Foodbank on the food insecurity project, funded for two years by the anti-poverty charity Trussell Trust.

It has allowed CAB’s Nicolle Robertson to take on the full-time role of food insecurity adviser.

Jane MacIntosh, chief officer at Caithness CAB, has been “blown away” by the impact the project has had in less than half a year.

She explained: “We’re going out and about into communities to try and encourage people to come and speak to Nicolle if they’re using the food bank on a regular basis.

“The whole crux of it is that there is so much unclaimed benefit that people are not aware that they’re entitled to, and it’s causing more and more people to turn to food banks because they haven’t got the disposable income.

“What Nicolle is trying to do is encourage people to come and speak to us – let’s do a benefits check, let’s have a holistic approach to everything, let’s see that everybody is claiming everything they’re entitled to.

“And some people don’t even know how to claim. The whole remit of this is to try and stop people being so reliant on the food banks.”

Total financial gains achieved for CAB clients since the project began in February have amounted to over £90,000, Mrs MacIntosh said.

“That’s money that is coming into our community,” she pointed out. “People can obviously be spending it on necessities, but it might also give some of these families a little bit of disposable income for some luxuries as well.

“Sadly, there’s a lot of people that at the moment don’t have a lot of luxuries.

“The cost-of-living crisis can affect everybody in some ways. This is in place just so anybody who is struggling can come along, speak to Nicolle, get a check done and see if there is anything that they’re entitled to.

“I think it shows good community spirit that we are able to collaborate on this.

“I had said initially that I thought this was going to be a slow burner. I was blown away with how quickly it all just aligned and how busy Nicolle has been.

“We have been able to help people that otherwise we wouldn’t have been able to.”

Miss Robertson, a fully trained generalist adviser, is finding her food insecurity role very rewarding so far. “I absolutely love it,” she said. I get a buzz from it.”

Mrs MacIntosh said: “Nicolle is not based in the office the whole time now, so she’s going out to community hubs. We’re bringing our services into the community rather than the community coming to us.”

Caithness Foodbank chairman Grant Ramsay said: “Hopefully it’ll reduce the number of folk that require food parcels. If they can sort out the money problem then these folk will no longer need to come to the food bank – that’s the idea behind it.”

Mrs MacIntosh added: “Hopefully it’ll help poverty in the area. A lot of people are struggling with food, and heat, just the whole cost of living.

“Hopefully this project can help, and it has already proven to be quite successful.”

Caithness Foodbank’s centres are open from noon to 2.30pm on Tuesdays and Fridays at the former Carnegie library in Sinclair Terrace, Wick, and at 13 Princes Street in Thurso.

Caithness Foodbank has eight volunteers at its Wick centre and about the same in Thurso.

Caithness CAB can be contacted on 01847 894243 or via its website at www.caithnesscab.org or by email at THU-Bureau@caithnesscab.casonline.org.uk

Mrs MacIntosh added: “The message is don’t hesitate to get in touch. It just shows the difference we can make.”

Penny Morriss, head of the Trussell Trust in Scotland, said: “People in Caithness are being driven to food banks by a lack of knowledge around their entitlements, with research showing that unclaimed benefits is one of the biggest issues they are facing.

“Combined with a lack of accessible support, due to the remote and rural population, this has created a perfect storm which has trapped many people in a cycle of poverty. This partnership between the food bank and Caithness Citizens Advice Bureau will tackle this by providing a new service for people experiencing food insecurity by putting them directly in touch with the right advice exactly where it is needed.

“The food insecurity adviser from Caithness CAB will be able to meet face-to-face with people from communities in Caithness that are currently underserved. The combination of visits to community hubs alongside home visits will mean that going forward no-one in the area is left behind and isolated.

“This work will help move people towards improved physical and mental health, reduce food bank use and tackle the rising financial inequalities in the area.”

A food insecurity project is also operating in Orkney and there is one based in Inverness.

Caithness Foodbank works with about 20 referral agencies, and one of these should be the first point of contact for clients.

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