The Aberdeen Cash First Project, part of the Scottish Government’s “Cash-First: Towards Ending the Need for Food Banks in Scotland” pilot, aims to understand how access to financial crisis support can replace emergency food provision.
This test of change set out a clear ambition: to reduce both the depth and longevity of poverty for single males, aged 18 to 45, who are in receipt of Universal Credit and accessing foodbanks. We aimed to achieve this ambition by delivering the Flexible Crisis Fund, designed to provide immediate, direct financial support while improving access to wider, wrap-around support that can help people build stability and move forward in their lives with dignity.
Flexible Crisis Fund
Launched on the 4th of November 2024, the Flexible Crisis Fund has already supported 113 individuals as of July 2025. Those who have received support are facing a wide range of challenges: different housing circumstances, multiple or complex health needs, addiction or recovery and issues with benefit payments.
Many lived experience individuals shared they would not trust themselves with cash payments due to current or historical addictions, drug debts or lack of budgeting skills. In response, the partnership created a risk matrix to ensure that everyone can access support in the way that works best for them. Of the 113 individuals supported, 53 were marked as medium risk at the point of referral.
A central principle of Cash First is choice. Recipients decide how to use the funding based on their own priorities. Although 61 recipients received funding for food and essentials, this was often a secondary reason for referral. The most frequent requests were linked to debt, either to pay off or put towards debt repayments.
Other uses of the fund included:
- Bills and utilities
- Housing payments
- Employment and training
- Transport costs, including bus passes
- White goods and furniture
- Specialised equipment
- Clothing
Wrap-Around Support
Cash First also takes a person-centred approach in identifying and connecting people with additional wrap-around support. Most recipients are signposted to welfare and money advice – helping to maximise income, apply for benefits or receiving debt or budgeting advice.
Fuel poverty was a major theme throughout the year: in winter, this was due to high heating costs, and in summer with many people struggling with fuel-related debts. Recipients were also signposted to employability-based support, housing support, furniture support, addiction and recovery support and to access IT equipment.
“ACVO’s ambition remains clear: to see Aberdeen become one of the first cities in Scotland to reduce the need for foodbanks, offering those facing food poverty not just immediate relief but the chance to move forward in life with choice and dignity.”
Impact
The difference Cash First has made in just its first year is significant. Monitoring shows that, by July 2025, foodbank use among recipients had dropped by 92%, with 82% not returning to a food bank since receiving Cash First funding.
Beyond food insecurity, we have recorded the impact of wider outcomes such as:
- 48% of recipients were able to maximise their income
- 66% experienced an increase in access to wrap-around support
- 63% reported feeling improvements in their mental health and wellbeing, reducing their long-term need for crisis support
Key Findings
Listening to individuals with lived experience of crisis support has been essential. Surveys with 70 individuals identified the real pressures driving foodbank use: insufficient income to cover rising costs, challenges with the benefits system and the emotional barriers that make it hard for people to ask for help. Words like ‘embarrassed’, ‘shamed’ and ‘judged’ came up frequently.
Food is often just the tip of the iceberg, with the Scottish Government identifying insufficient and insecure incomes as the main reason for food insecurity. Poor health, addictions, relationship breakdowns and prison liberation also play a role. Debt has a considerable impact too, with 72.6% of recipients experiencing debt with either one or more creditors.
The surveys also revealed gaps in awareness of support services across Aberdeen. Individuals repeatedly telling their story to different professionals was causing frustration, reinforcing the need for a single point of contact. Cash First has stepped into this gap, streamlining referrals and communication between partners while keeping the person’s needs at the centre.
Looking Ahead
The first year of the Cash First pilot has shown the difference that choice, dignity and wrap-around support can make. It has reduced reliance on foodbanks, helped people tackle debt and improved mental health and wellbeing amongst the individuals supported.
With these impactful results, ACVO and partners are committed to raising the profile of the Cash First project and sharing its impact. ACVO’s ambition remains clear: to see Aberdeen become one of the first cities in Scotland to reduce the need for foodbanks, offering those facing food poverty not just immediate relief but the chance to move forward in life with choice and dignity.
Stories from Cash First Aberdeen
Through a series of personal accounts, shared with consent and dignity, Stories from Cash First Aberdeen illustrates the impact of the Flexible Crisis Fund in Aberdeen.
Highlighting lived experience voices from Lukasz, Jack, Freddie, Robert and Ryan, these stories demonstrate how cash payments and wrap-around support provide these individuals with a sense of relief, restoring some control in their life and offering real pathways out of crisis.
Listen to their stories now at cashfirstaberdeen.scot
