Our work in Scotland

In a wealthy nation like Scotland, everyone should be able to afford the essentials. Yet one million people face food insecurity and we continue to see near record levels of hunger and hardship in communities across Scotland.

While we have seen some welcome progress over the course of the current parliament, for too people supported by food banks in the Trussell Scotland community, change isn’t happening fast enough – or making enough of a difference to their daily lives. Too many people in Scotland still need to use a food bank to survive. Many more people are going without essentials due to a lack of income without accessing any support.

This can, and must, change.

Our 2026 Scottish Parliament election manifesto 

As we head towards the Scottish Parliament elections in May, we are calling on politicians to make full use of the powers, resources and levers we have at Holyrood to deliver a better, brighter future for people in Scotland facing hunger and hardship.  

With the political will, we can end the need for food banks in Scotland. 

We know what needs to change and we believe the appalling levels of hunger and hardship in our communities should be a wake-up call for all political parties in Scotland. We are calling on all political parties and election candidates in Scotland to commit to building a Scotland where everyone can afford the essentials, where every child has a decent start in life, and where charitable food aid is consigned to history, forever. 

Our manifesto sets out our building blocks to end the need for food banks in Scotland. 

Our five key asks of the next Scottish Government 

1. A supportive social security system that ensures everyone in Scotland can afford the essentials, including by delivering the first steps towards a minimum income guarantee.
2. Invest in holistic, tailored advice, accessible for people experiencing hunger and 
   hardship to ensure everyone can get the support they need in the right place and at the right time.
3. Ensure everyone in Scotland has a safe, secure and affordable home.
4. Deliver more dignified support for people with disabilities and health conditions, including better and more timely access to mental health services.
5. An updated action plan to end to the need for food banks in Scotland, fully funded and aligned to Scotland’s child poverty targets.

Read our manifesto

Food insecurity in Scotland

There are 43 food banks in the Trussell community in Scotland, distributing parcels at over 144 venues, and in 26 local authorities.

Between 1 April 2024 and 31 March 2025, these food banks distributed 240,000 emergency food parcels, including more than 140,000 parcels for families with children. While this is a slight drop compared to the previous year, the need for emergency food is still persistently high and food banks in the Trussell community in Scotland are providing double (+101%) the number of parcels compared to a decade ago.

Our latest Hunger in Scotland research has revealed that in 2024, one million people across Scotland, including 210,000 children, lived in food insecure households and despite falling inflation levels, there has been no real progress in reducing the use of food banks. 

Our strategy in Scotland

People need food banks when they don’t have enough income for the essentials. In Scotland, we’ve developed a new strategy that includes offering strategic grants to food banks to support their communities and identifying millions in income for people facing financial hardship.

We’ve trialled new approaches that put people with lived experience of hunger and poverty centre stage and secured a commitment from the Scottish Government in May 2021 to develop an action plan to end the need for food banks. This new plan was published in summer 2023. There is hope, and an emerging route to a Scotland without the need for food banks. We must not stop until we get there.