Tackling the high cost of transportation could help reduce the number of people in food poverty, according to a new group established to address the growing demand for food banks.
Many impoverished families find a lack of affordable transportation is a barrier to them going to the supermarket, the group heard at its first meeting in Edinburgh today.
The group is chaired by Reverend Dr Martin Johnstone, the secretary of the Church of Scotland's Church and Society Council.
He has been asked to make recommendations to the Scottish Government by February next year.
Representatives from poverty organisations and charities discussed how to address the issues which push people into food poverty.
A Scottish Government spokeswoman said: "The group met for the first time in Edinburgh today to introduce everyone involved and identify some of the key areas that the group will focus on.
"It will be looking at best practice in other countries and other organisations.
"There was a discussion about transport costs, as lots of people find transport is a barrier to getting to the supermarket, and also about how organisations can better collaborate together."
Latest figures from the Trussell Trust show that in 2014/15, 117,689 people, including 36,114 children, picked up a three-day supply of groceries from their Scottish food banks. This was up from 14,318 people two years earlier.
The first meeting comes as the Poverty Alliance's annual Challenge Poverty Week runs from October 17 to 23.
Peter Kelly, director of the Poverty Alliance, said: "The growth of food banks in recent years is the surest sign that we need to do more to tackle poverty in Scotland.
"Challenge Poverty Week is aimed at highlighting that solutions to poverty do exist, and the work that volunteers across Scotland do week in and out providing emergency food aid shows that people are committed to tackling the scandal of food poverty.
"But it is necessary that we find longer term solutions to food poverty. So we welcome the Scottish Government convening this new group to find lasting solutions to the problem.
"Through it we will be able to draw on the experience and expertise of those volunteering in food banks, people using emergency food aid and those involved in community food projects to make a real difference in the future."
The short life working group is made up of representatives from a range of organisations including Oxfam, Fareshare and Poverty Truth Commission.
Its recommendations will feed into the Scottish Government's Social Justice Action Plan being published in the new year.
Social Justice Secretary Alex Neil said it is hoped the group will come up with a food strategy that will reduce the need for food banks over time.
He said: "It is heart-breaking that anyone should be left hungry and unable to afford to feed their families in a country as prosperous as Scotland.
"UK Government welfare cuts and benefit sanctions have continually pushed more and more people into food poverty and increased the demand and number of food banks in Scotland. This shocking trend has to stop."
Speaking after the inaugural meeting of the working group, Dr Johnstone said all those involved recognised there was an "unacceptable scale" of food poverty in Scotland and an "absolute commitment" to try and help tackle it.
"Some of our work will be very practical and have a relatively immediate impact, building on many examples of superb work that is already happening," he said.
"Other elements will take time as we face up to the causes underlying the problems, including changes to the benefits system, low-paid work, job sanctions and lack of access to affordable high-quality food.
"The group is clear that at the heart of any meaningful work we will undertake, we need to have the experiences and wisdom of people who are themselves struggling against food poverty."
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules here