AS EAST Lothian Foodbank staff continue their search for new premises in the heart of the communities they serve, they would be the first to say they shouldn’t be here and no one should have to rely on them or any charity to feed themselves.
In the past 12 months, they have faced unprecedented demand for essential food and toiletries from over 13,650 people – one third of them children.
This equates to nearly 123,000 meals.
When I caught up with the team last week they were forecasting their toughest winter yet.
They were also praising the resilience of their volunteers and the generosity of the community that supports them.
They have already restructured within the existing building but it’s not perfect, and new premises would allow them to continue providing emergency essentials support, and would also enable them to expand their vital Money Advice Service, run in partnership with Musselburgh Citizens Advice Bureau.
If you have or know of premises which may be suitable for the foodbank in the east of the county, please get in touch with them.
Eighty per cent of people needing their support last month stated that benefits were their sole source of income, and the foodbank team continue to campaign with The Trussell Trust and the Joseph Rowntree Foundation for an “essentials guarantee” to ensure that the basic rate of Universal Credit covers the costs of essentials such as food, household bills and travel costs.
READ MORE: East Lothian Foodbank urgently seeking new home
You can find out more about their campaign at bit.ly/ELFBGOE
That’s why they’re focussing on ensuring they have the essentials they need this winter. You can find out what they need on their website. Please help them if you can, either by volunteering or donating.
Holyrood this week debated the Palestinian human catastrophe; Israeli hostages’ trauma; and the West Bank deteriorating situation. Horrifying indiscriminate savagery unleashed on Gaza, under siege after the brutal Hamas attack on Israelis.
Scotland doesn’t control foreign policy; nonetheless, SNP MPs attracted cross-party support for a Commons vote demanding a Gaza ceasefire. The UN has described this as a genocide of Palestinians by bombing, starvation and disease. “The only thing necessary for evil to triumph is for good people to do nothing.”
Doing nothing about Palestinian genocide will not place Scotland on the right side of history. I voted for an immediate ceasefire in the Scottish Parliament.
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