CHILDREN and young people in Glasgow are facing the brunt of the poverty crisis with tens of thousands of meals handed out in the last year alone.

Figures from the Gowanbank Hub show that 124,668 parcels were distributed to youths between January 2021/22 – and numbers are only increasing.

An end of year report published by the crisis support centre argues that teenagers and children are being more adversely affected by the current “food crisis” than adults, who received 6710 emergency parcels during the same period.

Their findings come with a recent spike in demand at the Pollok provision, which was revealed to be the direct result of a 4% increase in inflation on everyday essential items.

Billy Coull, co-director, said: “With the publishing of these figures, I hope that it shows the harsh reality of food inequity across our community. There are honestly tens of thousands of people suffering without any form of financial support and living on the breadline, wondering how they are going to survive the next week.

"Or, wondering how they are going to support their family, their children. I am even aware of some families who have lost family members as a result of suicide after facing stresses from the poverty epidemic we are all living in.”

The charity’s harrowing figures are released just days after energy regulator Ofgem announced a rise in the price cap, which could see average annual bills rise by £693.

The worry led to a debate among MPs in the House of Commons, where they discussed food insecurity.

Mr Coull added: “Coincidentally, these figures are released just days after politicians who earn more than £40,000 per year are debating the driving factors of the need for food banks.

“Those politicians must do something to protect our most vulnerable people now.”

In September, we exclusively told how scores of parents were keeping their children off school in the south west of Glasgow due to play piece poverty.

Mums, dads and carers struggling to make ends meet welcomed a Glasgow City Council scheme that saw all schoolkids benefit from a free mid-morning snack.

A UK Government spokesperson said: “We know this has been a challenging time for many people, which is why we’re providing support worth around £12 billion this financial year and next to help households with the cost of living, including putting an average of £1000 more per year into the pockets of working families, and we have announced a further £9bn to protect against the impact of rising global energy prices.”