A pensioner who has clocked up a decade of volunteering has made it his mission to help people facing food poverty.
Thoughtful Stan Esson, 81, signed up to help out at East Renfrewshire Foodbank when it opened in 2013. The Barrhead man was inspired to start volunteering following his retirement.
However, he admits he did not think he would still be helping to provide emergency food aid 10 years later – with the need for food banks rising dramatically in recent years.
Stan – who spent 30 years as an electrical inspector and working for the Ministry of Defence – says he fears the food bank will be vital for more and more people as the cost-of-living-crisis takes its toll.
Speaking to the Paisley Daily Express, Stan said: “When I worked in my full-time job there wasn’t anything such as a food bank, and it is only really in the last 15 to 20 years that you have started to hear more about them.
“When we started we had no idea that we would still be working ten years down the line and be getting busier.
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“We thought at the time it would only be like this for X amount of time but I’m afraid there is a sign that this may never get any quieter.
“There is a big gap between those who have and those who have nothing. I think you have to support those at the bottom end of the queue.”
Food bank usage has risen exponentially in the last decade with the Trussell Trust quoting figures of over a 100 per cent increase from 2016/17 to 2020/21 across the whole of the UK, with Scotland having almost 200,000 people using their food banks alone.
In the year 2021/22, 197,000 people used the food banks in its network, with more than 70,000 of them being children.
Campaigners working to tackle poverty have reported some families are being forced to choose between ‘heating and eating’ as costs continue to soar.
“The demand has changed massively since I first started,” added Stan, who said he was ‘hooked’ on helping right from the start of his volunteering journey. Obviously, when something starts you have to build it up, but it has jumped up by a lot in under 10 years.”
Dedicated Stan is now the warehouse manager for East Renfrewshire Foodbank – a role in which he has helped thousands of people in need.
Stan's efforts saw him nominated by his fellow volunteers in the 2022 East Renfrewshire Citizen of the Year Award, an accolade he went on to win.
However, the pensioner was keen to highlight the work of his fellow volunteers and the community in Barrhead which supports the food bank with regular donations
He added: “The donations were very low to start with, but now we get donations from the community such as the supermarkets, churches and schools which is fantastic.”
To donate money, food or essentials to the food bank, search for East Renfrewshire Foodbank on Facebook.
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