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Caithness food bank use decline - but stark poverty challenges remain





Maree Todd MSP visited food banks in Thurso and Wick and said she had been told by people in the area that the cost of living crisis still continues to affect many.
Maree Todd MSP visited food banks in Thurso and Wick and said she had been told by people in the area that the cost of living crisis still continues to affect many.

PEOPLE living in Caithness have told their MSP that many folk are “just one unexpected bill away from needing help”.

The sobering assessment came as figures from anti-poverty group the Trussell Trust reveal that 3527 emergency food parcels were distributed across the Caithness, Sutherland and Ross constituency during 2024/25.

Of these,1109 parcels went to children - representing a 17 per cent decrease from the previous year.

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Overall, this marks a six per cent drop in food bank use in the constituency, aligning with a 10 per cent reduction across Scotland.

Earlier this month, we reported how a collaborative project is helping to tackle poverty in Caithness by boosting awareness of benefits that are going unclaimed.

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. This focuses on helping people access unclaimed benefit to improve disposable incomes. It has been credited with bringing £90,000 into the county in five months, helping reduce dependence on food parcels.

Local MSP Maree Todd said the decline in food parcel use has also been linked to key interventions by the Scottish Government, including the Scottish Child Payment.

After visits to food banks in Wick and Thurso, she thanked the “compassionate volunteers” at both, adding: “They come together to support people and families who are struggling – they are a real lifeline to many in their communities.

“But food banks shouldn’t have to exist. No one should have to rely on emergency food just to get by.

“While the latest figures from the Trussell Trust show that Scottish Government measures - such as the Scottish Child Payment, expanded access to free school meals, and efforts to mitigate the damaging legacy of the bedroom tax and benefit cap - are starting to make a difference, these numbers still expose the ongoing and unacceptable levels of food insecurity in my constituency and across Scotland.

“The root cause remains the same: people simply don’t have enough income to meet basic needs. Families are being forced to make impossible choices—between heating their homes and putting food on the table.

“What also stood out to me in my conversations in both Wick and Thurso is that food insecurity can affect anyone. We’re all just one unexpected bill away from needing help.”

She accused the UK Labour Government of failing to tackle the cost of living crisis despite promises to reduce energy bills - already disproportionately high in the Highlands.

She said the Scottish Government has “a wider package of bold, progressive policies designed to support children and families”.


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