Annual Report 2025/26 - Data Updates and Analysis
Foodbank Usage/Children Living in Low-Income Families
Foodbank Usage
Foodbank usage tripled between 2018/19 and 2023/24, but 2024/25 and 25/26 saw a reduction in monthly parcels distributed. An average of 85 parcels were distributed per month in 2025/26, down from 137 in 2023/24. These supplies supported 1,620 people, with approximately 30% under 16, a 13% increase on the previous year. The Foodbank data shows an uptick since the start of 2026, predicting up to 100 parcels a month later in the year. Previous figures came from both the Shetland Foodbank and Anchor for Families. However, the Shetland Family Centre no longer distributes food or financial support.
Children living in low-income families
In 2024/25, Shetland had the third lowest level of children living in low-income families (before housing costs) in Scotland, behind East Renfrewshire and East Dunbartonshire.
7.7% of children were living in low-income families, a 0.5% increase from the previous year. This compares to 9.3% after housing costs, a 0.2% decrease on 2023/24. The methodology for measuring this indicator has changed across the UK meaning, on average, child poverty levels appear to have decreased by 2%. However, direct comparisons cannot be made due to the change in calculations. It remains higher than the Shetland Partnership’s baseline and target levels. While levels remain lower than the Scottish figure of 12.3% in 2024/25, neither the higher cost of living in remote and rural Scotland nor the Council’s Winter Payments to low-income families, is taken into account in these figures.
Other indicators such as Free School Meal uptake, Education Maintenance Allowance and School Clothing Grants can provide a more rounded picture of child poverty. The Local Child Poverty Action Report contains further detail about how the partnership is monitoring and working to overcome child poverty in Shetland.