Andy Suddon: Evelyn Sangster - Food Banks

Members attending last week's Rotary club meeting were welcomed by President Sandy Bannerman and heard an excellent discourse on the subject of "Foodbanks" by local Salvation Army Officer Evelyn Sangster who was accompanied by her husband Gilbert.  Evelyn, Hawick's very-own "action woman" was responsible for setting up and running the local project which has mushroomed in a very short time.  She also helped to set up similar schemes in other Border towns and it is run entirely by volunteers and on donated goods.  The ethos of the scheme is help at point of need and operates on referrals from Social Services, CAB's, HM Prisons and other agencies.  At present 40-50 food bags are supplied month and each bag contains enough food to last a week and consists of all the usual subsistence groceries.  Evelyn described some cases which were heart-rending in this day and age, much to the surprise of the members.  She also touched on the pathetic instances of fraudulent applications and even a "team" who, having been provided with food bags, promptly tried to sell the contents in local pubs but she soon put a stop to the practice!  Donations of food, etc can be made in the trolleys in place at Morrison's and Sainsbury's supermarkets in the town.  Many questions and interesting points cropped up, ably dealt with by the speaker, after which President Sandy gave the vote of thanks congratulating Evelyn and her team for their magnificent work.