Evening Telegraph (First Edition)
Couple are delivering for needy
A NEW mum and dad are balancing changing nappies with helping people in need as they deliver food to hundreds of hungry families.
Gary Rooney and fiancee Alana Gow have provided 218 families across Dundee, Perth and Angus with much-needed supplies this winter, and all while looking after a 23-week-old baby.
The couple have set up an anonymous text line, allowing people to reach out discreetly.
Gary, who also runs a vehicle recovery business, said: “The dedicated text number lets people just leave their address.
“They don’t have to give any more information than that.
“It allows people to keep this all very discreet; we just leave the food on their doorstep, ring the bell and leave.
“This way people can receive the help they need without having to go to a foodbank.
“While a lot of people do just prefer us to leave stuff at the door, some like to come out for a little chat and show their gratitude.
“It’s nice to have that because we both work full-time and we have our baby, so obviously doing this is taking up a lot of our free time at the moment.
“We’ve had great support from a lot of local shops and businesses, as well as the Dundee Morrisons.
“They gave us two big pallets of pasta and condensed milk and other things like that.
“They also gave us one of their foodbank bins, which was amazing.”
The couple have also received food donations from friends, relatives and the public.
The popularity of their service has come as a shock to the pair, with Gary, 36, claiming the demand has far outstripped their estimates.
“We’ve served 218 so far and we have six or seven more booked in for the next week,” he said.
“At first we thought we’d maybe be doing two or three deliveries a week, but I think that in our busiest week we had 38 different families.
“Everyone is having problems with this Covid-19 stuff, and like I said we’ve had a lot of people using the service and lots of them aren’t your stereotypical foodbank users.”
Gary said that while he and Alana are happy to help, it is “extremely concerning” that so many people are in such need.
“We’ve had a lot of sleepless nights thinking about some of the families we work with and if we could be doing more to help them,” he said.
“This has sort of been a massive eye-opener for us on how badly this year has hit people, especially families.”
“If we’re still in a similar situation next year then we’ll definitely do the same thing – if it’s required then we’re happy to do it.
“It’s really good to give back and help out.
“As a business owner I feel like I owe everything I have to Dundee.”