Foodbank Collection

The Trussell Trust was also present at Tesco on the day of Mr Brown’s surgery.

They were collecting items for East Ayrshire Foodbank after recent figures have shown usage is at an all-time high.

Data has revealed that between April 2018 and September 2019, 278,258 emergency food parcels were distributed by independent foodbanks in Scotland – with a further 318,214 parcels distributed by the Trussell Trust.

In Kilmarnock and Loudoun, between 1st April 2018 and 31st March 2019, 6228 three-day emergency food supplies were given to local people in crisis, with 2163 of these going to children.

After his surgery, the MP for Kilmarnock and Loudoun made a donation to the foodbank as well as many other shoppers.

Commenting, Mr Brown said: “It was heartening to see the number of donations but there was a wide realisation and feeling amongst shoppers of disbelief that it shouldn’t come to this. It’s a disgrace.

“Foodbanks and their volunteers do an excellent job of providing support for those who need it, but the fact that they even exist is a damning indictment of Tory policies which are actively driving people into desperate situations.

“The Scottish Government is spending hundreds of millions mitigating the worst of Tory cuts but we know there’s a direct link between harmful policies such as Universal Credit and foodbank use. They should be utterly ashamed of what has come of their medieval policies which show nothing but contempt for the most vulnerable in our society.”

Below is a list of items local foodbanks are in need of:

UHT/Powdered Milk, cartons of juice, tinned meals (eg. Stew), tinned vegetables, tinned tuna, cereals, sugar, soup, biscuits, pasta, pasta sauce, crisps, toilet roll, tinned beans and tinned deserts (eg. Custard and rice pudding).