Hundreds of needy Moray families will be spared from hunger as part of a new deal between the local authority and a food bank in Elgin.
The council has contracted the supply firm which keeps cupboards stocked at the region’s schools to regularly visit the charity base with mounds of groceries.
The Brakes Scotland organisation has now made its first delivery, and firm bosses yesterday met the team behind the social enterprise to mark the start of the new initiative.
Since April, Moray Food Bank has received 517 referrals and helped 890 struggling residents.
Project leader, Mairi McCallum, said the new arrangement would help to meet growing demand.
She added: “Year on year, the amount of people that need our help is going up and we’ve even had to start distributing special parcels for people without electricity.
“We receive donations from churches and schools, but having this regular delivery will be brilliant.
“The items go into parcels that will be given to hundreds of people.”
When the council awarded Brakes a new grocery contract earlier this year, the authority stipulated that the firm would have to make stops at Moray Food Bank every three months.
Brakes staff recently arrived with two towering supermarket cages bulging with everyday essentials to be distributed among residents who struggle to afford their own meals.
The cages included some of the items the venture most desperately needs – like tinned fruit and vegetables, pasta sauce and UHT milk.
Brakes Scotland’s Chris Boyle said that similar schemes elsewhere in the country had highlighted the need for food banks to receive extra assistance.
He added: “We are delighted to be donating to the Moray foodbank in Elgin to help those most in need.
“We hope that our regular contributions can make a real difference.”
Moray Council’s operational support officer, Susan May, added: “We can be sure that, by working with Brakes and the Moray Food Bank, we will be assisting families who are experiencing difficult times.”