I have contacted three MSPs; Johann Lamont; Humza Yousaf; and Nicola Sturgeon. So far, I have ony received a reply from Ms Lamont, who attached a copy of the letter she sent to the First Minister on our behalf.
Humza Yousaf has also contacted me and I have spoken to him in person about the issue. He has been very supportive and has offered to do all he can to help us and our petition. He informed me he had written to John Swinney to ask about the government underspend and whether any of it can be allocated to help struggling food banks.
I contated all three MSPs on 27/05/15.
I informed them I am calling on the Scottish Parliament to urge the Scottish Government to either 1. use their underspend (estimated £145m) to help struggling food banks meet increasing demand or 2. raise tax by 1p to raise an estimated £256m to alleviate the pressure.
As highlighted, we have been having food collections. We have used Sunny Govan Community Radio as a means of promoting our cause and broadcasting emergency appeals for food. All of this on top of other donations from other sources. However, demand is increasing and it has now reached the point where the community is donating lots and lots of food and less than two weeks later, the food bank shelves are empty.
We have also organised public meetings on the food bank issue.