iStockBaby banks supported more than 15,000 children across Scotland in 2023, figures show.
The newly-formed Baby Bank Alliance, made up of charities including Save the Children, is demanding the UK Government urgently addresses the “unacceptable” figures.
Data collated from baby banks across the country shows 15,546 families were supported in 2023, with almost 84,000 items including clothes and products to keep children clean and healthy distributed in this time.
Across the UK, 161,496 children in England, 11,880 in Wales and 8,973 in Northern Ireland were also supported by baby banks.
Jodie, a mother from Huntly in Aberdeenshire, received support from a bank run by Gordon Rural Action.
As a single mother, she said the service helped her ensure her son Jayden had the best start in life despite the significant financial constraints she faced.
“I have to make sure Jayden gets the best life, and I just look after myself after,” she said.
“Jayden’s portion sizes are going up so I’m lessening mine, I’m a single mum too, so it’s difficult especially in a cost-of-living crisis.”
It comes as the UK Government faces pressure to scrap the two-child benefit cap which restricts child welfare payments to the first two children born for most families.
Earlier this year, figures published by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) showed 26,000 families in Scotland were impacted by the policy, with campaigners warning ministers to make child poverty eradication a “priority”.
Hannah Pentith, executive lead of the Baby Bank Alliance, said: “These new figures reveal the shocking scale of child poverty in the UK and the urgency of action needed to tackle it.
“Bringing a child into the world is one of the most precious moments for any parent, and yet so many begin this journey without the essentials every baby needs.
“It’s unacceptable that parents or carers should be agonising over the cost of everyday items.
“Some children don’t have the little things we all take for granted every day, a book to read, a warm blanket to cuddle up with or a pram so mum and dad can take them to the park. The impact of this can follow a child for the rest of their lives.
“Baby banks are stepping up by normalising reuse of essentials, protecting the planet, alleviating the impact of material deprivation and building a community to help each other through difficult times.”
Sophie Livingstone, chairwoman of the Alliance, urged the UK Government to make child poverty a priority.
She said: “With stubbornly high child poverty rates, there has never been a more important time for baby banks to unite so they can keep reaching the families that need them and to make sure the new UK Government makes tackling child poverty the priority it should be.”
The UK and Scottish governments have been asked for comment.
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