​Foodbank boss says people are getting increasingly desperate

People desperate to feed their families are trekking miles to get food, a leading foodbank has warned.

Julie Webster, who runs Greater Maryhill Foodbank, says people are walking miles across the city to access free food.

The foodbank – one of the country's busiest – fed 1,125 people, including 465 children, in February.

We'd all like for there to be no need for foodbanks but we need them and we can't stick our heads in the sand and ignore it

Webster said the situation wasn’t getting better but worse with a noteable increase in the number of in-work clients.

She said: "It is getting busier. More people are getting to know about us. I think it's because we're not just a foodbank, we sign post people to other agencies and really help them."

"There's people walking from Parkhead to Maryhill to come to our foodbank. We are feeding clients from the east end and the south side. We are seeing people from well outside Maryhill now."

Webster says benefits sanctions remains a major reason for people to turn to foodbanks.

"We're seeing an increase in the number of people who have nothing because their benefits have been sanctioned,” said Webster. "We sometimes see nine sanction cases a day.

"We're also still seeing an increase of the working poor. That's people who are on zero-hours contracts or minimum wage. They just can't afford to live."

Webster is calling for a more coordinated approach to foodbanks.

She said: "We'd all like for there to be no need for foodbanks but we need them and we can't stick our heads in the sand and ignore it."

Thieves broke into the foodbank earlier this year and made off with £1,300 raised to help an injured hit-and-run victim.

However, the community responded by flooding the charity with donations and a security system was put in place.