The teachers buying food for pupils and their families

The teachers shopping for items for the school food bank

Teacher Eilidh Mears spends every Monday evening in the Tesco store at Hermiston Gate in West Edinburgh, scouring the aisles for food to help families at her school.

On average she puts about £200 worth of food in her trolley.

It is made up mostly of items destined for landfill which come free of charge from the shop.

But Eilidh, along with other staff members from Canal View Primary, also regularly pay out of their own pocket for essential items the food bank needs.

What they purchase helps at least 15 families every week.

Eilidh told BBC Scotland's The Nine: "The gold dust of items is fresh meat. To come in and see fresh meat, fresh fruit and vegetables and loaves of bread; these are the things you know will give people a decent meal.

"If they are having a difficult week we can basically provide them with enough food to see them through to the next week. It makes a big difference."

Eilidh was joined by her colleague Neil Adam to get the food bank shop

For this food shop Eilidh was joined by her colleague Neil Adam.

He said: "We know there is a need for food. The parents tell us there is, we observe it and we also overhear the children talking about food.

"This isn't a hand down, it's more like a hand up."

The next day the teachers pack up the food items in to packages and hand them out in the playground to any parent that comes forward.

The number of those asking for help can vary but in recent months it has only increased.

They hand out a variety of ingredients, ready-made meals and even birthday cakes when they know a family can't afford to celebrate.

The teachers hand out food packages to those who need them

Headteacher Ann Moore said: "I think there are a number of parents who are finding life much more difficult now.

"A lot of our working parents are in that situation either because they are in zero hour contracts or low paid jobs that means they've not got enough money to meet the needs of their family.

"So they have to look at other things they can do to help with that."

The school's goodwill efforts don't end with the food bank.

They also provide a clothes bank, run a breakfast club, and collect children from home and walk them to school to ensure they get there safely and on time. It all involves hours of unpaid work from staff members.

They also recently supported one of their pupil's mothers when her boiler broke down and left them without heating for 10 weeks.

The mother, who wanted to remain anonymous, told The Nine that her circumstances had an impact on her daughter at school too.

"Because the house was so cold, she didn't want to get up in the morning," she said.

"I think because she was so tired, from a lack of sleep, she couldn't concentrate in school."

Canal View head teacher Ann Moore said families were in difficult circumstances

The mother said the cost of running blow heaters in the house had been huge.

Another parent, Leigh-Ann Wood, said she is concerned for those in her local area.

She said: "You're used to your monthly bills and then all of a sudden it's massive.

"For me, it's a huge jump. I think it's now £900 a year for just gas and electricity. So now I know I have to work more just to cover that.

"I wouldn't like to see anybody struggling and the thought of families in our community that are struggling and can't afford things, that's hard to know," she said. "I think in this day and age we expect to have the basics in life."

Thinktank The New Economics Foundation recently warned that by next month almost half of all children in the UK could be living in households unable to meet the cost of essentials.

Canal View head teacher Ann Moore is concerned for the future.

She said: "I think in this school, as in many schools, they're definitely will be families finding themselves in very difficult circumstances.

"I think that schools, not just in Edinburgh but country-wide, need to be looking at the cost of the school day and how we can help with that."