A GLASGOW food bank has served up 2223 meals to desperate families in just three months.

More than 500 bags filled with nearly 1900kg of groceries have been given to 161 hungry adults and 86 children in crisis across the city.

But the volunteers who run the Scotstoun-based lifeline say they have only "scratched the surface".

The Glasgow North West food bank, part of the Trussell Trust charity, is just one of an increasing number of food banks across Glasgow set up to meet the sadly growing demand.

Based at Blawarthill Parish Church, on Millbrix Avenue, it was only launched in May but volunteers have been inundated with pleas for help.

Even before the doors had opened they were flooded with requests from desperate people.

It opens on a Tuesday and Friday, from noon to 2pm, but organiser Gill McCormick said that hungry people frequently turn up out with these hours.

There are now 15 food banks across Glasgow, run by charities and community groups, and demand is rising.

The Trussell Trust has three with a fourth due to open in September.

Gill said: "We knew there was a great need for a food bank in the North West of Glasgow but we did not anticipate this level of response.

"The reality is that we have not even scratched the surface.

"We have had a total of 134 referrals to the food bank.

"From this we have now helped 161 adults and 86 children – 247 people.

"This equates to 2223 meals or 1890kg of food."

Each single person who uses the food bank gets two bags of non perishable food, a family is given four bags and single parent and child are allocated three bags.

Gill added: "Most of these people are in difficulty because of benefits changes or delays.

"Some clients come to us in destitution and they do not have any electricity to cook the food that we give them.

"In extreme cases we contact their electricity suppliers to explain the crisis to them.

"In under a month we saw eight households where there was no electricity, we were able to have six reconnected."

Food banks across the city are now bracing themselves for a spike in the number of requests from parents who are struggling to feed their kids during the summer holidays.

As we reported earlier this month, a rising number of Glasgow families who rely on school breakfasts or free lunches to provide their children with a square meal are expected to turn to food banks for help.

A total of 18,878 children in Glasgow, from a school population of 62,700 pupils, are entitled to free meals – 30% of all pupils in the city.

Gill added: "We have started to see an increase in the number of children visiting the food bank but we anticipate this will get gradually worse as the holidays go on."

A recent study into food poverty in Scotland showed more than 20% of parents have gone without food to feed their children or relied on family members or friends for food in the last 12 months.

A worrying UK-wide picture also showed one in five parents are struggling to feed their children.

linzi.watson@eveningtimes.co.uk