Food insecurity: You feel like you are not good enough as a parent

Mum-of-four Louise is a regular face at the North Ayrshire food bank pantry and says she wouldn’t have survived for several weeks without help.

“It’s such a relief to know that we can definitely get enough food for everyone and that no one will have to miss a meal,” she says.

“You kind of feel like you’re not quite doing enough, that you’re not quite good enough as a parent,” she says.

“But knowing that other people are also in that struggle and that there are people who can help you, it just makes such a difference.”

North Ayrshire is the area in Scotland where people are most likely to need help putting food on the table, according to a new study.

BBC analysis of research from the University of Leeds and consumer group Which? looked at 363 councils in the UK, assessing neighborhoods on metrics such as distance to major supermarkets, the number of families receiving free school meals and households in food poverty.

The research identified 29 municipalities where half of the people lived in places where there was a high risk of food insecurity.

Three were in Scotland – North Ayrshire, where 65% of people lived in such neighbourhoods, East Ayrshire (59%) and West Dunbartonshire (50%).

For Louise, help first came in the form of an emergency food parcel, arranged through her health visitor.

She now pays £4 a week to stock up on fresh meat, tinned goods, toiletries and fruit and vegetables using the group’s food pantry – saving hundreds of pounds a month.

Louise says she is determined to do the best she can for her family, despite the current financial climate.

“It’s scary as a parent or even as an individual knowing that it’s not that easy to prepare a home-cooked meal,” she says.

“Sometimes it’s easier to just buy a €1 ready-made meal, but as a parent you don’t want to feed your children that, you want them to have fresh vegetables.”

The food bank and pantry – which is run by the Trussell Trust – helped more than 5,000 people in the North Ayrshire community last year.

Volunteer James oversees the logistics of packing the emergency kits.

The 41-year-old has also benefited from the service in the past.

“Knowing that I can put a can of beans on the table or a can of spaghetti on the table, I know it’s there when I need it, and so does anyone else,” he said.

Now he wants to give something back to others.

“It’s not about getting food and handing it to customers,” he said.

“It’s about putting a smile on their face and showing them that we are here for the community.”