A food bank officer and a senior Citizens Advice Bureau manager said yesterday they were “not surprised” by claims people were stealing to eat.
Food bank development officer Laura Ferguson works for both Christian charity Blythswood Care and the Trussell Trust.
She said there had been a record number of more than 5,500 people making use of the service in the past year.
She said: “We’ve found that anyone who uses food banks is so embarrassed they generally don’t like speaking about it, there is still a stigma there.
“If you’ve been driven to the point of having to steal food to get by then you’re obviously not going to feel comfortable talking about it.
“But I certainly would not be surprised that it happens. Life is very tough out there and we’re seeing demand on hours services grow every year.”
Liberal Democrat councillor Alasdair Christie, who is Inverness Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB) manager, put the rise down to welfare reform policies introduced by the Conservative Westminster government.
He said that he always treated police data “carefully”, and that the rise could be down to increased detection of the crime.
He said: “It’s entirely down to welfare benefit reforms. The bureau has certainly noticed a distinct rise over time in people receiving food vouchers and that is down to austerity measures.
“I would not be surprised by some people resorting to thieving for food.”
A DWP spokeswoman said there was “no evidence” that welfare reform was responsible for rising demand for food banks or shoplifting.