Millions of meals have been distributed to vulnerable Scots during the coronavirus lockdown, a charity has said.
FareShare Glasgow and the West of Scotland revealed they had served up around 1681 tonnes of food - equivalent to more than four million meals.
The charity, run by homelessness prevention charity Move On, takes extra and surplus food from across the food industry and redistributes it to organisations that support the most vulnerable.
Since the beginning of lockdown, as many as 72,000 people are now estimated to be accessing food provided by the charity each week.
Fears were raised as lockdown restrictions began to take hold that Scotland's most vulnerable were at risk of "falling through the net" as they struggled to supply themselves with food.
Age Scotland said that calls to its helpline trebled within days of lockdown beginning in March, with many callers telling volunteers that they have struggled to obtain food.
FareShare says demand for their services has quadrupled since last year, and describe the rise as "staggering".
Director of Operations, Jim Burns, said: “Many more individuals and families are finding themselves in really difficult circumstances because of the lockdown restrictions, and demand for our food has risen steeply.
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“We distributed a little over 1 million meal portions in the same period last year, so to see that number rise to 4 million really is staggering.
“We’re lucky to have an incredible team of volunteers who have gone above and beyond during the lockdown to make sure we get food out to the people that need it most.
“Several local wholesalers also donated stock that would otherwise have gone to waste when they were forced to close. We’ve even had schools and dental practices get in touch to drop off gloves, masks and hand sanitiser to keep our team safe!
“It’s been really heartening to see the community come together during the crisis to help make sure vulnerable people don’t go hungry.”
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