Food Bank
It is a sad fact that many people in the UK increasingly find themselves relying on emergency food banks. Aberdeen, despite its wealth and status as the Oil Capital of Europe, is no exception.
Instant Neighbour has provided emergency food parcels to individuals in serious need for over twenty years. Whenever someone requests a food parcel, we carry out a brief, informal assessment of their needs – what has brought them to us; why do they need a parcel? – and provide a food parcel containing 2-3 days of emergency provisions.
We provide emergency food parcels only to individuals in particularly difficult circumstances, and do what we can to refer clients on to other agencies which may be able to help them through their difficulties.
From speaking to our clients, there appear to be many reasons why someone comes to us a for a parcel. These reasons may include:
- late benefit payments;
- waiting for the first payment under new benefit claims;
- stopped benefit payments due to sanctions imposed;
- waiting for the first wage from new employment; and
- increased heating costs during the winter months.
Regrettably, many of the problems encountered by individuals coming to us are becoming more, rather than less prevalent. As such, we expect demand for food parcels to continue to increase.
Where to find us:
5 St Machar Drive
Aberdeen
AB24 3YJ
Opening Hours:
Monday – Friday
10:00 – 13:00 & 14:00 – 16:00
How to Donate to our Foodbank
You can donate in three ways:
- Use our Amazon Wishlist to make your donation and it will be sent straight to us.
- Drop – off your donation at our St Machar Drive premises – open Monday to Friday from 10:00 – 13:00 and 14:00 – 16:00
- Can’t drop off? No problem. Call us to book a collection!
What to donate?
Below is a list of items you can donate but not limited to:
- UHT or long life milk
- Tinned Soup
- Tinned Meat & Fish
- Tinned Vegetables
- Rice & Pasta
- Jar Sauces
- Cereals
- Tinned Fruit
- Biscuits & Snack Bars
- Teabags & Instant Coffee
- Sugar
- Diluting Juice
- Dog & Cat Food
- Basic Toiletries
Food Parcels and Clients Supported (2020–2025)
Below is a snapshot of our activity over the last six years, showing the number of food parcels distributed and the number of clients we have supported.
| Year | Food Parcels Distributed | Clients Supported |
| 2020 | 8,836 | 2,502 |
| 2021 | 7,660 | 1,838 |
| 2022 | 7,741 | 1,931 |
| 2023 | 7,450 | 1,929 |
| 2024 | 7,797 | 1,963 |
| 2025 | 8,698 | 2,057 |
Due to the increase in numbers and the need to do whatever we can to help people out of poverty, we regularly have advisers available at our food bank to speak to clients and provide them with practical assistance to overcome their difficulties. This allows us to do what we can to deal with the causes that bring clients to us in need of food assistance.
If you can help us to continue to deliver this vital service, Instant Neighbour and our clients would be grateful.
