A SCOTSTOUN-based charity has distributed almost six months-worth of food in just eight weeks serving a record one million meals to vulnerable people during lockdown.

FareShare Glasgow and the West of Scotland has been continuing to fight hunger during the coronavirus crisis by distributing food to frontline organisations who are feeding those in need.

Since the start of lockdown, the service has distributed 422 tonnes of food, equivalent to more than one million meal portions.

Director of operations, Jim Burns, said: “We’re extremely proud to have distributed so much good food to organisations feeding people in need.

“The demand for emergency food has soared during the pandemic and we’re working harder than ever to keep up. We normally distribute 950 tonnes of food in a year, so to distribute nearly half of that in just eight weeks is an extraordinary achievement.

“We’ve seen a record number of charities requesting to join our network since lockdown, with our numbers swelling from 90 to 235 members. From community centres to food banks, we’re providing food to be turned into meals for people who are at the biggest risk of going hungry during the pandemic.

“One million meal portions is an incredible milestone for us, but we won’t stop there. Our team of staff and volunteers are working tirelessly to continue providing food to the hundreds of charities across Glasgow and the West of Scotland supporting the most vulnerable people in our communities during the crisis."

FareShare take surplus food from right across the food industry and redistribute it to frontline charities and community groups.

Through a network of charities and community groups, FareShare provide food right across the region.

The organisations that receive food from the charity’s South Street depot include children’s breakfast clubs, homeless hostels, mental health organisations and older people’s lunch clubs.

Manager of Heart of Scotstoun community centre, Amanda Quinn, said: “We’re delivering hearty homemade meals to 78 households every week, using ingredients we receive from FareShare.

“Many people think it’s only people struggling financially who need support, but, as well as low income households, we’re delivering food to people who need to self-isolate for a range of different reasons, including older people and people with health conditions.

“Our partnership with FareShare allows Heart of Scotstoun to not only provide homemade meals, but also to place tins and fresh fruit and vegetables into our parcels to help the most vulnerable people in our local area.”