One of Aberdeenshire’s busiest food banks has relocated to cope with growing demand.
Inverurie Foodbank Centre fed hundreds of people since opening last year, and has now moved from behind the Harlaw Centre to St James’s Place.
The centre is run by Aberdeenshire North Foodbanks – which has a team of around 70 volunteers working for its centres in Inverurie, Ellon and Huntly.
The Inverurie premises will act as the regional headquarters for the group and was yesterday described as a “strong base” for the service.
At the grand opening, Inverurie Academy pupils presented the team with £3,000 after winning the cash through the Youth and Philanthropy Initiative (YPI).
Joyce Palin, volunteer coordinator of the Inverurie food bank, said: “While we would all like to live in a world where food poverty does not exist, the fact remains that there is a widespread need for this service in Aberdeenshire.
“As long as that need remains our volunteers will do all they can to help the people who turn to us in a time of crisis.
“We support people from all walks of life and backgrounds who often have longer-term problems they are dealing with.
“We are delighted with our new premises in Inverurie. It will provide us with a strong base from which we can continue to coordinate our efforts across Aberdeenshire ensuring this vital service reaches those in our communities who are most in need.”
Between April 2014 and March this year, the group’s network fed 1,219 people in the region, of which 788 were adults and 431 were children.