Food bank fundraiser attracts over £2,000 in donations

David Grieve of Shetland Food Bank, Tesco community champion Maureen Stevenson and store manager Neil Connell with some of the food donated to the food bank. Photo: Peter Johnson

A fundraising effort launched by a local musician in aid of Shetland Food bank has raised over £2,000, easily beating its £500 target.

Jack Sandison set up a JustGiving page after reading of the food bank’s problems brought on by the coronavirus crisis.

He organised a live “busking” session on Facebook which allowed participants to demonstrate their creative skills in a way which would help get the food bank through its recent problems.

As of Sunday afternoon almost 100 supporters had raised an impressive £2,235.

It comes as official figures from the Scottish government show the number of cases in the isles has risen to 27.

The Shetland Times reported how the food bank had seen a drop in donations as a result of the pandemic.

Most of the regular volunteers at the St Magnus Street premises had been forced to temporarily remove themselves as well, either due to health concerns or age.

But efforts have been made to overcome the difficulties, with newly recruited volunteer teams helping the food bank maintain regular opening hours.

Meanwhile, the food bank service is reminding its supporters that food can be donated to rural shops, meaning there is no need to come to Lerwick to hand food over.

Collection baskets have been set up in country stores, including in Walls, Aith, Whiteness, Bigton and Dunrossness.