Volunteers of Perth and Kinross food bank are still counting donations, two weeks after a massive supermarket collection.
The charity’s city centre storage space is full to bursting with food and Christmas gifts thanks to a collection at three Tesco stores across Perthshire.
Food bank project coordinator Eleanor Kelleher is still tallying up the total from the thee-day collection between November 29 and December 1, as well as donations handed to the Cutlog Vennel food bank since then.
It is thought between six and eight tonnes of food was collected from supermarkets in Perth and Blairgowrie, in addition to the 10 tonnes already in storage.
And the generosity of people in Perthshire continues as Eleanor expects the total to double between now and Christmas, as donations continue to flood in.
She said: “We just can’t keep up with the donations coming in.
“We’re still counting from the Tesco collection but it’s looking like between six and eight tonnes of food which is just brilliant.
“On top of that we have had loads of donations from nurseries, schools and businesses as well as personal donations from our open mornings.
“We’ve had lots of Christmas stuff like gifts and hampers which has been really nice.”
But food has also been leaving the centre rapidly as the number of people seeking help has risen this month.
“The donations have been amazing but we have also been really busy with people coming in for food, so it does show they are needed,” Eleanor said.
“Recently we have had between 15 and 20 people coming in every day but that usually means feeding about double that when you take into account couples and people with kids.
“The donations we have had have been on a whole other level compared to anything we have ever seen. We have had more than last year but we also have more people who need help than last year.”
There have been so many donations that the food bank has had to temporarily remove the collection points in supermarkets.
Instead, Eleanor has asked people who have donations to take them directly to the food bank or keep them until the new year, when the collection points will be returned.
