Aberdeen’s Lord Provost George Adam is to live on just £2 a day for the next five days to highlight the plight of those living in food poverty.
Mr Adam launched the Appetite for Change initiative in Aberdeen yesterday, which coincided with World Food Day.
All the money raised through the challenge will go directly towards helping local people who are most in need.
The fundraising drive, organised by Community Food Initiatives North East (CFINE), asks volunteers to make do with only £10 to cover the cost of all their food and drink from today until Friday.
In the past year, the organisation’s food bank has handed out more than 10,000 emergency food parcels.
This is expected to rise to over 15,000 due to the downturn in the oil industry.
CFINE also supplies food to over 180 partner organisations in the north-east which have, in turn, provided around 30,000 emergency parcels to people facing food poverty over the past year.
Mr Adam, who was first to sign up to the campaign said: “Sadly there are many people in our city facing challenging financial situations and I’m so grateful that we have organisations like CFINE here to help them when they need it the most.
“Many of us take it for granted that we have enough to eat, so by taking part in Appetite for Change, I hope to highlight the very real problems faced by people in our communities everyday who struggle to feed themselves and their families.”
CFINE’s Chief Executive Dave Simmers said there had been a “staggering increase” in demand for its support services over the past 18 months.
He added: “Families are finding themselves in a position where they are unable to afford enough food and are in need of emergency food parcels and financial support, due to current challenging circumstances.
“Many are choosing to ‘eat or heat’ and parents are going without to feed the kids.”
Anyone who would like to support the campaign can donate by searching for Appetite for Change on www.justgiving.com
