Emergency funding to tackle food insecurity

An additional £500,000 will be awarded to the charity FareShare to step up redistribution of surplus food for people struggling to afford to eat.

The funding, which doubles investment in FareShare over the next two years, will help the charity mitigate against the potential consequences of Brexit on food supply for people in need.

The funding is in addition to the Scottish Government’s £3.5 million Fair Food Fund, established to tackle food insecurity.

Communities Cabinet Secretary Aileen Campbell visited Crookston Community Food Project in Glasgow today to meet with staff, volunteers and members of the community.

She said: “In a country as prosperous as ours, everyone should have access to affordable, nutritious food. Our further investment in FareShare and community groups like Crookston ensures we reach more of the people who need help the most.

“This extra funding will further help those who have been badly hit by the UK Government’s cuts, which mean that welfare spending will be reduced in Scotland by £3.7 billion in 2020/21.

“We are also taking this step to insure ourselves against the economic damage of a possible exit from the EU. It is shocking that we have to do so, but the deal proposed by the UK Government would make people poorer and undo much of the great progress we have made as a nation to tackle inequalities and poverty.

“Regardless of the Brexit outcome, we will continue our plans to tackle food insecurity.  Scotland is the only country in the UK to routinely monitor food insecurity using the UN’s recommended measure and we are continuing to address the underlying causes.”

The Fair Food Fund aims to ensure that everyone can feed themselves and their families and reduce reliance on emergency food provision. In 2018-19 the fund was increased from £1 million to £1.5 million, and will be £3.5 million in 2019-20.

FareShare is a UK-wide charity which redistributes surplus food that would otherwise go to waste, to frontline charities and community groups.