The Lomond Foodbank — based at St Mungo’s Church Hall Alexandria — opened in September 2014 and was initially used as a emergency food service for struggling families across the Vale with no referral necessary.

But with hundreds of families using the service every month, organiser Christina Logan says she’s had to change how the foodbank provides for the community with demand so high donations can’t keep up.

Christina told the Reporter: “Over the last couple of weeks, we’re getting more well known and much busier — we helped 70 individuals and families on Tuesday morning alone. We’re running low on everything. When we first started we were giving people huge bags of stuff to last a full week, but we can’t sustain it any more.” Christina has met bosses at other foodshares across the area — including St Augustine’s foodbank and West Dunbartonshire — in an effort to decide how best to divide donations. Mum-of-six Christina has had to limit bags handed out to three-days worth of food, and will switch to a referral system from March onward to ensure the foodbank is not abused.

But despite the enforced changes, Christina says the response from those who rely on the service has been positive – with a few exceptions. She said: “A few people were using us as a free shop, when we’re supposed to be here for emergencies. That is not helping anyone, we’re now referral only from March onward, people have to get help and ask for help and then referred to us now. Citizen’s Advice and Welfare Rights are there to help and people need to visit them first.

“We know people are sanctioned, and we know how hard it is, but I can’t have people coming here and using us as a shop. On Tuesday I had a man in and he was raging, he went ballistic and wanted more food. I told him this is for emergencies and this is three days worth. He got really aggressive and angry, he went out shouting and ranting and raving, but we’re not here to sustain people everyday.” She added: “We’re here on Tuesday, Renton foodbank is on Thursday, and St Augustine’s is on Friday. Some people were using all three. This ruins it for anyone else, we have people who desperately need our help. We don’t want people put off giving us donations and we need people to know this is an essential service. People know we want to help. It was the first time we’ve ever had someone so angry. People are always so grateful.” Renton councillor Jim Bollan told the Reporter: “Christina and all her colleagues in Lomond Foodbank are a shining example of all that is best in our small community. They have helped to share the burden being carried by the district wide foodshare project. The goal needs to be to make all foodbanks redundant and the main way to achieve this is to vastly increase the purchasing power of the working poor and those on state benefits. Inject back the billions of pounds the Tories have taken from the pockets of the working class, to bail out the greedy bankers.

“A key aim of my own party the SSP is to campaign for a minimum wage of £10 for all citizens aged 16 and over who are in work. To pay for this we would tax the rich and big business. It is only by taking radical redistributive measures like these, will we begin to tackle poverty and remove the need for foodbanks.” Christina added that the foodbank desperately needs donations and is grateful for what anyone can spare: “We have a trolley in Iceland in Alexandria and a trolley in Balloch Coop. People can call down on Tuesday with donations from 10am at St Mungo’s Church Hall on Main street in Alexandria.”