Who We Help
We help local people across the Stirling Council Area who are experiencing hardship.
People are referred to us for a number of different reasons, but have one thing in common—they are in financial hardship and have no means to provide the basics for themselves or their family. They may be caught in the revolving door of poverty; they may have had benefit sanctions or delays imposed on them; they may have lost their job; their family may have broken down; even an unexpected bill can leave some in crisis.
Poverty in Stirling
Just over 12% people in Stirling live in a household suffering from income deprivation (Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation (SIMD 2016)). This accounts for 11,000 people across the area, of which:
- Almost one fifth of whom live outside the south-east urban area (Stirling city)
- 2,500 currently live in areas described as very income deprived nationally
- Raploch (Stirling) is an area of deep-rooted deprivation and has been consistently among the 5% most deprived areas in Scotland since SIMD 2004.
- Over 200 households are homeless or in temporary accommodation at any one time in the Stirling Council Area
- 9,500 people suffer income deprivation who live in areas not currently recognised as income deprived.
The statistics have shown a growing need for our services year on year.
Start Up Stirling in 2022/23
April 2022 to March 2023
Through our Foodbanks we have:
- Provided food for 128,772 meals
- Received 1,970 referrals
- Supported 3,693 people
Through our Helper Packs we have:
- Provided 269 Starter Packs with each client receiving an average of 3.5 of the additional items available (Toaster, kettle, microwave and pillows/duvet)
- Provided 471 Emergency Packs
- Provided 394 Toiletry Packs
- Provided 144 Welcome Packs
Through our Support Services we have:
- Identified clients through the foodbanks that would benefit from additional support to tackle issues such as social isolation, loneliness, fuel poverty
- Listened to our clients, over a cuppa, and spent time talking with them to understand the challenges they face, the help they require and show that someone cares
- Encouraged our clients to attend community meals, weekly group support over lunch, cookery classes and engage with other organisations for tailored support
- Provided volunteering opportunities
Our Clients
Our services make a real difference. Here are some of our testimonials.
Couldn't get by without the food. Staff very helpful. Felt embarrassed at first but not now. Getting out, meeting people and getting food helpful.
It was better than I expected. Helped me out a lot when I needed it. Really appreciate the help and volunteers could not have been nicer.
The service and support was more than I ever expected. The staff were wonderful and I was put at ease straight away. I have been able to settle and access crucial forms of support from here.
The contributions of food have been essential to my daughter who has type one diabetes
It was beyond our expectations the volunteers/staff were extremely kind and helpful and go above their call of duty
The service here is really helpful as are all the staff. It has really help my partner and I to overcome some of the difficulties we experienced budgeting during Jan and Feb which are really cold and we could spend more on power and heating
I think it is a tremendous service, without this our client would have had nothing to eat. The service has enabled our client to have had time to get her benefits sorted and also recover from a terrible injury. She is very humbled by this.