Food banks in Scotland are preparing for their most challenging Christmas yet as they struggle with rising demand and dwindling public donations, new research shows.
According to a survey by community giving platform Neighbourly – which Aldi partners with to distribute surplus food from its stores – 68% of food banks, charities and community causes in Scotland are worried about having enough food to support people this Christmas.
Neighbourly polled more than 600 food banks and community causes nationwide and found that 89% in Scotland expect this Christmas to be their busiest yet, with more people than ever needing their support.
However, the survey also revealed that 71% of food banks in the region have witnessed a drop in donations in recent months – with the fallout of the pandemic and rising cost of living continuing to impact contributions.
On average, food banks in Scotland expect to see a 36% increase in demand over the next three months, with organisations in the area currently supporting an average of 203 people a week. More than 67% say they’ve already experienced an increase in demand since the summer.
From tinned foods to festive treats and toiletries, the research also revealed a list of the items that are most needed by food banks over the festive period to help guide supporters. Shoppers can donate food to local charities, food banks and community groups via the community donation points in Aldi stores nationwide.
Mary Dunn, Managing Director of Corporate Responsibility at Aldi UK, said:“Christmas can be a particularly busy time for the local charities and organisations we support, but this year is set to be more challenging than ever.
“As part of our Christmas campaign with Kevin the Carrot and Marcus Radishford, we have committed to donate 1.8 million meals to good causes in the lead-up to Christmas – and we know that our customers in Scotland want to help too.
“If you feel you are in a position to help, your donation could make all the difference to food banks this Christmas.”
Steve Butterworth, CEO of Neighbourly, added: “The findings of our latest survey highlight that the continued impact of the pandemic, combined with increased inflation, is being very much felt by communities up and down the country, with charities and local causes feeling the effects too.
“We’d encourage anyone who is able to give back in the coming weeks to do so.”
Aldi works with Neighbourly to donate surplus food from stores throughout the year.
Over 3,000 people will be supported by Festive Friends this year
A record £100,000 has been committed to this year’s campaign
More community trusts and SPFL clubs than ever involved (41)
This year’s campaign will see the continuation of last year’s doorstep visits to people who are at risk of social isolation
Some clubs will host festive events again for the first time since last year
Edinburgh City, Hibernian and Heart of Midlothian football clubs are bringing Christmas cheer to those that need it most this year by taking part in the biggest ever Festive Friends programme during the holiday season.
Festive Friends is a brilliant opportunity for clubs to give back to their local communities.
The programme is now in its sixth year, with 41 SPFL clubs taking part in the campaign this year.
The campaign has the largest fund ever this year, a total of £100,000, which means the SPFL Trust will be able to more than DOUBLE the number of people clubs are able to support.
As such, the programme is expected to support over 3,000 people this year.
It’s been a tough few years for everyone due to Covid-19, but of course it has been especially difficult for the elderly who are at higher risk of social isolation.
Festive Friends brings Christmas cheer and companionship to elderly people who are socially isolated and at risk of being alone during the festive season.
Almost 4,000 people have enjoyed an event in the last five years and last year’s new-look initiative, when it was not possible to hold events due to physical distancing rules, was also a huge success with over 2,800 people receiving Christmas hampers in doorstep visits.
Hampers contained food, snacks, essential toiletries, gifts, games and more. Some clubs even brought video messages from managers and players; others had players make personal deliveries.
This year club staff and volunteers will continue to visit participants with hampers, or welcome them to their ground to enjoy a hot Christmas lunch, fun and games, a club gift, and transport there and home.
Tommy (84), who lives in a rural part of Perthshire, received a Christmas hamper from St Johnstone Community Trust ‘Saints in the Community’ last year.
Tommy self isolated during the first national lockdown in Spring 2020. The lack of social interaction and the loss of his beloved football had taken its toll on him physically and mentally.
He was thrilled to receive a hamper which was packed with festive goodies, a memory lane activity book, and a bonus video message from first-team player Stevie May.
Tommy said: “The gift box was full of lovely stuff. I like when Saints come to visit and we can have a chat about the games. I don’t always remember all the scores, but Danny [former St Johnstone FC player – Danny Griffin] keeps me right.
“The wee activity book took me back, it’s no substitute for talking to others about the game, but it brought back nice times.”
https://youtu.be/9sK5CbHVALU
SPFL Trust CEO, Nicky Reid, said: “Festive Friends is a real highlight of the year for me and my colleagues at SPFL clubs. It’s all about good old fashioned Christmas spirit – bringing club staff and volunteers together to reach elderly people who are at risk of social isolation.
“Scottish football is trusted to support, and our recent research shows that almost 83% of people live within ten miles of a SPFL ground – because of this clubs and their associated community trusts are well positioned to effect this type of change in their communities.
“This year 41 SPFL clubs are involved making it our biggest programme yet, supported by a record breaking fund of £100,000. We look forward to supporting more elderly people than ever before, after all kindness never mattered more.”
At the end of November, registered charity HorseBack UK was hit hard by Storm Arwen. Dozens of trees came down around the county pulling powerlines with them, leaving the charity without power, light, heat, hot water, or phone connection for six days.
Founders Emma and Jock Hutchison were cast back into the pre-electric age, in a freezing house, with a herd of thirty-three horses to look after.
Fortunately, the Hutchisons are pretty tough. One was a Royal Marine and the other served in the police force. They tend not to complain. But even Emma, usually one of the most stoical people you could meet, said that her sense of humour was wearing pretty thin.
Storm Arwen could not have come at a worse time. After 18months of pandemic and not being able to deliver the work the charity is known for, it was just getting back on its feet.
Emma, Jock and the team had re-started delivering their life changing courses to veterans and vulnerable young people, especially those suffering with mental health challenges – many of whom had had a particularly tough lockdown.
A huge amount of work had been done on logistics and installing strict safety protocols and, of course, course sizes had been reduced, limiting the number of people the team could work with and help.
However, there was light at the end of the tunnel and the entire team, including the 33 horses were back to doing what they love. Until Storm Arwen roared in and stopped the charity in its tracks once again.
Not only did it pull down power lines it also damaged buildings and in particular field shelters for the horses. With winter here it is imperative the horses have shelter from the cold, wet winds of northern Scotland.
Co-founder Emma Hutchison explained: “After a tough 18 months we were thoroughly enjoying getting back to work, so to be thwarted again really tested our resilience. The storm has done a lot of damage and we desperately need to repair or replace the field shelters for the horses.
“The herd is pretty tough and can cope with quite a lot but the relentless rain and wind we get can wear them down and have a negative impact on their health. And when it snows, they really do need a place to shelter.
“These horses are part of our family and we are pulling out all the stops to get them the shelter they need as fast as possible. We desperately need donations to help pay for the materials to build and repair the shelters.”
The arrival of Arwen has also shown Emma that storms can take many forms, and that contingencies need to be put in place.
Emma added: “We realised we need to build a Storm Fund, to keep us going when the unexpected strikes. We get no government or council funding, so we are completely reliant on donations. It is the generosity of the public which enables us to do our work.
“If we could gather a new fund, it would help us to do additional practical things, like build new field shelters for the horses to protect them against wind and weather, and invest in a generator to keep the lights on. But it would also act as a bulwark against unheralded events, like pandemics or shifts in the economy.
“We want to make sure that Horseback UK can rely on the sturdiest foundations. Whatever the literal or metaphorical weather, we need to be able to go on helping veterans with life-changing injuries, as well as the young people we work with in the local community. We want to ensure that our future is stable, however unstable the external world can sometimes seem. And that is our next, dedicated mission.”
To find out more about Horseback UK and to donate to support their work and the rebuilding of the field shelters visit:
UK Government and NHS announce ambition to recruit tens of thousands of volunteers to help get jabs into arms
All eligible adults will be offered the chance to get their jab before the New Year
PM: “We need you to come forward again, to work alongside our brilliant GPs, doctors, nurses and pharmacists, to deliver jabs and save lives.”
Prime Minister Boris Johnson and NHS Chief Executive Amanda Pritchard have joined forces to issue a rallying cry for thousands of volunteers to come forward and support the NHS booster campaign.
The public will be urged to play a crucial role in the UK’s fight against Omicron by helping the NHS to get as many jabs into arms as quickly as possible. No task will be too small to contribute towards this national effort.
Yesterday the Prime Minister announced a new ambition for every eligible adult to have the chance to get their jab by the end of the year.
This follows new evidence that suggest the Omicron variant is extremely transmissible and two jabs are not enough to protect against infection.
The new target means the NHS will be massively ramping up its vaccine operations in the next few days, and it needs as many people as possible to play their part by volunteering their time to help.
Urging volunteers to sign up to the booster drive, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said: “As part of our Get Boosted Now vaccination drive we need to increase our jabbing capacity to unprecedented levels.
“But to achieve something on this scale, we need your help. So today I’m issuing a call for volunteers to join our national mission to get jabs in arms.
“We need tens of thousands of people to help out – everyone from trained vaccinators to stewards.
“Many thousands have already given their time – but we need you to come forward again, to work alongside our brilliant GPs, doctors, nurses and pharmacists, to deliver jabs and save lives.
“So please come forward if you can.”
There are now almost 3,000 vaccine sites across the country, staffed by over 90,000 volunteers who have given up 1.1 million hours of time so far.
In the next week hundreds more sites, mobile units and pop ups will be springing up across the country. These will be in a range of locations that will make it as easy as possible for people to get boosted – such as at football stadia, shopping centres and racecourses.
This means volunteers are needed to perform tasks such as registering patients, managing queues and giving jabs.
Last week the NHS announced a recruitment drive for 10,000 paid vaccinators and support staff and that it will also work with the Royal Voluntary Service and St. John Ambulance to recruit a further 40,000 volunteers for roles such as admin and stewarding queues.
In the last week, 13,000 people have come forward as steward volunteers, and a further 4,500 people have registered their interest to take up one of the 10,000 paid vaccinator roles. The government and NHS now want to go even further.
NHS England Chief Executive Amanda Pritchard said: “In the face of the grave threat posed by the new Omicron strain of Covid, the NHS is seeking to offer vaccine booster protection to all eligible adults by the end of the month, a new national mission in which everyone can play their part.
“There is no doubt that our incredible NHS staff will rise to the challenge but we cannot do this alone – we need the support of the public and volunteers to once again support the Covid vaccination programme.
“Since we first issued a call to arms we have had an outstanding response but Omicron has shifted the goalposts and we are now renewing our plea to the nation – I would urge anyone who has volunteered in the past, or considered it but not taken up the opportunity, to come forward now – search ‘NHS vaccine team’ today and find out more about how you can help us save lives.”
Health and Social Care Secretary Sajid Javid said: “To help us turbocharge our COVID-19 booster programme we need people across the country to join our national mission to get boosted now.
“We are so grateful to the volunteer vaccinators from organisations such as St John Ambulance and Royal Voluntary Service who have made an enormous contribution by administering millions of vaccinations since the start of this year.”
People interested in either a voluntary or paid role are urged to visit the Join Vaccine Team page or search ‘NHS vaccine team’. People who volunteered or were trained for paid roles previously are also being contacted to help out again.
Scotland’s First Minister will make a statement on the situation in Scotland this afternoon. It’s expected that restrictions will be strengthened here as Omicron variant cases continue to rise sharply across the UK.
Armed forces step up to support vaccination drive across UK
Over 100 personnel are currently supporting the vaccine rollout in Scotland. 600 Armed Forces personnel have been made available to NHS England to administer vaccines, working in small teams across the country.
In addition, around 50 personnel will provide planning support to NHS England. 41 planners will deploy to NHS trusts across England and 10 logistics experts will be based at NHS England’s headquarters in London.
Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said: “We have rapidly mobilised Service personnel to work alongside our dedicated health services to accelerate the vaccine booster programme.
“Our Armed Forces will help to get vaccines into arms as quickly as possible as we continue our efforts to support the UK’s response to the pandemic.”
Health and Social Care Secretary Sajid Javid said: “We are turbocharging our COVID-19 booster programme to offer every adult in England a vaccine by the end of the year to protect people from the Omicron variant.
“Building our defences through boosters is a hugely important national mission and it’s brilliant to see the military supporting our NHS staff in our race against the virus.
“Please get boosted now to top-up your immunity and keep yourself and your loved ones safe this winter.”
Chief of the Defence Staff Admiral Sir Tony Radakin said: “I’m proud of our Armed Forces who are once again stepping up to help protect people and communities.
“We have a long history of working hand in hand with the NHS as two organisations with a common goal – to help keep our people safe.”
Planners based at NHS England headquarters will be led by Brigadier Phil Prosser who was previously deployed to support the delivery of the vaccine programme which began in December 2020. They will work alongside NHS England to maximise existing capacity and ensure the vaccine programme can be delivered at pace.
Since March 2020, Defence has supported over 430 tasks as part of Operation Rescript – Defence’s support to the UK’s response to the pandemic.
Defence is currently supporting ambulance services in Wales and Scotland and the vaccine rollout in Scotland among other tasks including testing.
Personnel supporting on Operation Rescript tasks have deployed from across the three services – Royal Navy, British Army and Royal Air Force – and are a mixture of regulars and reservists.
We’ve had a busy November, discussing this funding with as many people as we can.
To try to make it more accessible, instead of long application forms we’re asking you to fill in a few key details setting out what you think your organisation or group can do to meet the needs of communities in Edinburgh. Please also tell us what support you might find helpful.
These expressions of interest will be publicly available for others to see on our website from mid-December, so do check back in a week or two. We hope this open process will stimulate partnerships and ideas.
Expressions of Interest All expressions of interest need to be submitted using this online form, but we’ve also created a word version of the form to help you draft your application.
The closing date for expressions of interest is Fri 14 Jan 2022.
For details of the process after this point please see the Partnership Plan.
Other Ways to Get Involved If you don’t plan to apply to the fund, but would like to be involved in the process – e.g. as part of the decision-making collaborative – we would really welcome this and can discuss funding for your time where appropriate.
Word version of the expression of interest form to help you prepare for completing the online form. Please note we are only able to accept applications submitted using the online form above.
Fund Guidance – a two-page document summarising key points like who can apply, what can be funded.
Partnership Plan (Tue 30 Nov) – this document has been updated to reflect partnership conversations and sets out Edinburgh’s approach to the funding in more detail and how the process will work.
£1.255 million has been allocated to Edinburgh to support Communities Mental Health and Wellbeing, for those aged 16 and above.
The fund is to support mental health and wellbeing at a small scale, grassroots, community level. It can be used to increase capacity for existing groups and projects or for new initiatives.
Groups do not have to have mental health and wellbeing as their main focus, but there needs to be a clear benefit to the mental wellbeing of people in their community.
Initiatives with a focus on addressing mental health inequalities by supporting those who have been disproportionately impacted by the pandemic will be prioritised, particularly those supporting communities experiencing multiple forms of marginalisation.
Lifelong Heart of Midlothian supporter, Stevie Morris, is speaking out about his diagnosis of motor neurone disease (MND) to raise awareness, in support of the Club’s partnership with MND Scotland.
Thanks to an innovative sponsorship deal with Dell Technologies, MND Scotland’s logo is taking pride of place on the front of the Hearts home kit for the 2021/22 season. To help raise more awareness, Stevie, from Mid Calder, is sharing his experience of living with MND and what the partnership means to him and his family.
Before being diagnosed with MND, the Tynecastle Park season ticket holder used to love playing sport, including football, walking football and golf multiple times a week.
He said: “I used to live a very active life before my diagnosis, and it has been really tough having my ability to play sport gradually fade away to the point where I just can’t do it anymore.
“I’m someone who likes to take care of their garden, but this past gardening season I was even starting to find mowing the lawn to be too much.”
Stevie, who is married to Mary (61) and dad to Craig (37), used to attend every Hearts game, both home and away, but due to his worsening condition, is sadly unable to travel to watch away games anymore.
“Hearts has always been a huge part of my life. It’s really important to me and I used to love travelling to the games on the Livingston Hearts supporter’s bus, but I can’t do that now. The walk to the ground from the bus is just too far. Even going to home games, I have to get dropped off right at the entrance and am in the process of moving my season ticket seat, so I don’t have to walk as far.
“Right now, I am still able to get down to the pub on a Sunday to watch other TV games, something I’m still really glad I can do.”
Stevie first suspected something was wrong during a round of golf, when he experienced a freezing cold sensation in his foot, something which seemed even more unusual given the warm weather on the day.
He said: “From visiting my doctor to being diagnosed took around nine months in total. There was a lot of testing involved and other things that had to be ruled out. At first, I thought it might have been a trapped nerve but sadly it was more serious than that.”
Stevie was diagnosed with MND in February 2021 and less than a year on is having difficulty getting up and down stairs, as well as relying on a breathing machine at night.
“Being diagnosed with MND was devastating obviously. It just floored us and the whole family went through a period of complete disbelief. Although I found it very difficult to tell my family and friends, the hardest part was definitely having to tell my dad.
“For the past three games, I’ve taken my dad for hospitality at Hearts, which has been an amazing experience for us both and something very special we could do together.”
Stevie and his son Craig are extremely happy about the partnership between Hearts and MND Scotland and have both got the strip with the charity logo.
He continued: “MND is a horrible disease. For my team to be involved in such a positive and direct way is tremendous. I hope the money raised from the partnership will allow MND Scotland to continue helping people in my situation. The support and services they provided me with really helped to take a load off my family – they are magnificent.
“I hope the message gets through that MND can affect anyone. I’m a fan, who is there every week. I’m your midweek, go to Inverness or Ross County fan. I’m a fan that will have a sing a long on the supporter’s bus, and a beer before and after the match. Hearts are my team. My wish is that no one else misses out on future games because of MND.”
MND Scotland’s Head of Fundraising, Iain McWhirter, said:“Our partnership with Hearts has been amazing so far, and both the club and its supporters have played an enormous role in our effort to raise vital awareness and funding, to help change the lives of people living with MND today.
“I want to thank Stevie for bravely speaking out about his story and sharing his experience with us.”
To help people like Stevie, and to join MND Scotland’s search for a cure, please donate today.
Over 3,000 people will be supported by Festive Friends this year
A record £100,000 has been committed to this year’s campaign
More community trusts and SPFL clubs than ever involved (41)
This year’s campaign will see the continuation of last year’s doorstep visits to people who are at risk of social isolation
Some clubs will host festive events again for the first time since last year
SPFL clubs and associated community trusts (ATCs) across Scotland are bringing Christmas cheer to those that need it most this year by taking part in the biggest ever Festive Friends programme during the holiday season.
Festive Friends is a brilliant opportunity for clubs to give back to their local communities.
The programme is now in its sixth year, with 41 SPFL clubs taking part in the campaign this year.
The campaign has the largest fund ever this year, a total of £100,000, which means the SPFL Trust will be able to more than DOUBLE the number of people clubs are able to support.
As such, the programme is expected to support over 3,000 people this year.
It’s been a tough few years for everyone due to Covid-19, but of course it has been especially difficult for the elderly who are at higher risk of social isolation.
Festive Friends brings Christmas cheer and companionship to elderly people who are socially isolated and at risk of being alone during the festive season.
Almost 4,000 people have enjoyed an event in the last five years and last year’s new-look initiative, when it was not possible to hold events due to physical distancing rules, was also a huge success with over 2,800 people receiving Christmas hampers in doorstep visits.
Hampers contained food, snacks, essential toiletries, gifts, games and more. Some clubs even brought video messages from managers and players; others had players make personal deliveries.
This year club staff and volunteers will continue to visit participants with hampers, or welcome them to their ground to enjoy a hot Christmas lunch, fun and games, a club gift, and transport there and home.
Tommy (84), who lives in rural Perthshire, received a Christmas hamper from St Johnstone Community Trust ‘Saints in the Community’ last year.
Tommy self isolated during the first national lockdown in Spring 2020. The lack of social interaction and the loss of his beloved football had taken its toll on him physically and mentally.
He was thrilled to receive a hamper which was packed with festive goodies, a memory lane activity book, and a bonus video message from first-team player Stevie May.
Tommy said: “The gift box was full of lovely stuff. I like when Saints come to visit and we can have a chat about the games. I don’t always remember all the scores, but Danny [former St Johnstone FC player Danny Griffin] keeps me right.
“The wee activity book took me back, it’s no substitute for talking to others about the game, but it brought back nice times.”
https://youtu.be/9sK5CbHVALU
SPFL Trust CEO, Nicky Reid, said: “Festive Friends is a real highlight of the year for me and my colleagues at SPFL clubs. It’s all about good old fashioned Christmas spirit – bringing club staff and volunteers together to reach elderly people who are at risk of social isolation.
“Scottish football is trusted to support, and our recent research shows that almost 83% of people live within ten miles of a SPFL ground – because of this clubs and their associated community trusts are well positioned to effect this type of change in their communities.
“This year 41 SPFL clubs are involved making it our biggest programme yet, supported by a record breaking fund of £100,000. We look forward to supporting more elderly people than ever before, after all kindness never mattered more.”
Citizens Advice Scotland has launched our Big Energy Saving Winter campaign, which encourages people to get advice amid soaring energy prices (writes CAS Chief Executive DEREK MITCHELL).
It comes after months of turmoil in the energy market, with Bulb being the biggest supplier so far to go out of business. The spike in global gas prices saw suppliers sell energy at unsustainable losses and that has led to a shrinking of the market, meaning not only less consumer choice but also bigger bills.
In October the energy price cap, put in place to protect consumers, rose by a record amount, just as people faced a perfect storm of rising inflation and falling incomes due to things like the reduction of Universal Credit by £20 per week.
As we reveal, this all adds up to more than 1 in 3 of us finding bills unaffordable.
In polling for CAS by YouGov, people blamed rising energy prices and the cost of living, but also hard to heat homes and low incomes. Given there’s likely to be another rise in the Spring which on average will add around another £500 to bills, this situation will only get worse.
When we speak about energy bills in the winter, and Scotland’s unacceptable levels of fuel poverty, you’ll often see the cliché around “heating or eating”. But what feels like a cliché in the pages of a newspaper is the reality for too many people. 1 in 4 households were in fuel poverty before the pandemic, and as the snow begins to fall in parts of Scotland they face an incredibly rough winter.
In previous years this campaign would have encouraged people to “switch and save”. But due to the crisis in the market, the official advice is not to switch as many people will end up on a higher tariff.
Our campaign is about offering people solutions. Because that’s the good news: there is real help available. We want to ensure that people know they don’t have to feel powerless in the face of soaring bills.
There are various ways we can help them save energy, that’ll have the benefit of saving the planet as well – something to consider with COP 26 fresh in our minds.
CABs can also unlock money for people through things like social security, employment entitlements and debt reductions. In fact during the pandemic our network unlocked around £147m for people in Scotland.
So our campaign is all about making people aware of this help so they can access it.
You’ll possibly see your local CAB out in your community in the next few weeks, pushing the same message. Hopefully we’ll manage to provide some relief to at least some of the people who are suffering the cold.
So please help spread the message of our campaign. Tell your friends and family about it, re-tweet us (@citadvicescot), and if you’re in a position to amplify it in any other way, please do.
In the longer term, we need policies ensure consumers are protected and bills don’t eat up as much of people’s household income.
Until then the CAB network is here to help, as we have for over 80 years.
