Over the course of the last year, the Dundee-based charity, operated in partnership with Transform, redistributed over 518 tonnes of in-date surplus food from the food industry to 151 charities, including domestic school breakfast clubs, food banks and day centres.

However, in the eight weeks following the lockdown, demand for its service has soared and the charity has distributed over 200 tonnes of food, as well as signed up an additional 24 frontline charities. These include eight COVID response groups in Dundee, as well as local authority food hubs in Angus, Perth, Fife, Clackmannanshire and Kinross. As well as fresh food, the charity is also now providing packets and tins to help create food parcels for the vulnerable and those who are self-isolating.

Chris Doig, manager at FareShare Tayside and Fife, said: “Because of the lockdown many more families and individuals are finding themselves in really tough circumstances, and demand for our food has skyrocketed. We’re doing everything we can to continue to get food onto people’s plates, whether that’s delivering fresh food to homeless hostels and domestic violence refuges, or supplying community organisations with the packets and tins they need to get vital food supplies onto the doorsteps of families who are self-isolating.

“We’re incredibly grateful to our team of volunteers who have gone above and beyond to get this food out, and to everyone who has made a donation. These are tough times for everyone and it’s so heartening to see our community pulling together to get food out to the people who need it most during this crisis.”

• Read all of our articles relating to COVID-19 here.