“When you live in a place that has everything, it’s hard to imagine that there are communities without access to basic services like a simple grocery store.”
But in reality, there are thousands of people across rural Aberdeenshire for whom direct access to essentials such as food, toiletries and period products is considered a luxury.
Cfine development worker Sophie Morrison has seen first hand the widespread impact of rural poverty, with isolation, loneliness and deprivation holding a tight grip of some places in the region.
For the last year, Miss Morrison has been travelling with the charity’s “community hub on wheels” to support cut-off communities in remote locations.
While many towns and villages have adapted by setting up local foodbanks or larders, there are still dozens of residents forced to travel for miles to access basic necessities.
Cost of living crisis and Covid shine light on challenges of rural poverty
The mobile food service offers healthy and affordable goods at a low cost, or free of charge, in areas without any access to grocery stores or good transportation routes.
Miss Morrison, who has been leading the Connecting with Communities project since its inception, said: “Rural poverty is a widespread problem, and Covid and the cost of living crisis has shone a light on that.
“What strikes me is how isolated some of these communities are. Aberdeenshire is a huge area and a lot of people rely on transport to access a grocery store, which is not always easy or possible.
“We see it ourselves – sometimes we can’t go out with the van and have to cancel the service because of the weather, if there is a storm or the roads are blocked by snow.
“But this is a daily challenge for some rural communities, who don’t have any other option but to travel to get the essentials.
“We get a lot of elderly people who can’t even get out of their village, or have to take a bus to get to the nearest town with a shop and then wait for ages to get back home.
“In other places like Edzell Woods, we have people that aren’t able to drive anymore due to medical conditions so we are their only point of support.”
Service supports 15 communities
The service was launched with funding from Aberdeenshire Council last September to support those most vulnerable to food poverty.
Having started with only one pit-stop location on a trial basis at Auchanblae, volunteers now help more than 500 people in 15 different places across the region every month.
These include Fettercairn, Drumlithie, Turriff, Aberchirder, Banff, Macduff, Edzell Woods, St Cyrus, Rosehearty, Inverallochy and St Combs – with more added to the list on a regular basis.
When residents visit the Connecting with Communities van, they can buy fresh fruit, vegetables, eggs, and other healthy goods at affordable prices.
All of the food supplies available are usually tailored to the needs of each community, which is serviced fortnightly.
There is also good quality surplus food on offer from FareShare, which varies from week to week and is handed out for free, as well as staple items such as rice, pasta, tinned meals, tea and coffee.
Volunteers can provide additional support, including advice on benefits and budgeting, free period products and recipe cards, and referrals onto other services.
Families ‘below poverty line’ due to cost of living
Miss Morrison said their service is now more important than ever as the cost of living crisis puts even more pressure on families struggling to make ends meet.
“We have people coming who have never had to use food support before in their lives, but with the increase in cost of living they’ve just been clenched below the poverty line,” she said.
“We’ve seen a difference in what people ask for now – a lot of them are looking for basic items that don’t need a lot of cooking or they can put in the microwave or slow cooker.
“We also have an increased amount of people requesting kettle food as well, because it’s cheaper for them to put on the kettle and boil a pot of instant noodles for example.
“We try to help them maximise their income and ensure they get the right benefits, but there are many who are already getting all they are entitled to and are still struggling.”
Cfine hopes to further expand the project in 2023 and help areas with higher demand more regularly – but to do this, they will need more volunteers.
Miss Morrison added that one of the best things about Aberdeenshire is the community spirit she sees in every area, with locals doing everything they can to help one another.
Big Food Appeal
For the last few months, The Press and Journal and Evening Express have been highlighting the work of various groups and charities tackling food poverty locally.
We teamed up with Cfine for The Big Christmas Food Appeal to spread the word about the support available across the north and north-east and boost supplies at foodbanks.
Thanks to the generous donations of our readers, we have collected 8,500kg of food items – the equivalent of 20,952 meals – so far, with more to still be added to the tally.
With many still bearing the brunt of the cost of living crisis, we will continue to accept donations through the campaign’s JustGiving page and Amazon wish list.
Conversation