Food bank gives slow cookers to 20 families
AFOOD bank in the North East of Glasgow has given 20 slow cookers, as well as food and recipes, to families in need.
The Carntyne & Riddrie Credit Union started the scheme last month where it distributed 10 slow cookers to families in need alongside their food packages on the first Monday of the month.
This month, it has increased that number to 20 – and is looking for funding to increase that number next month.
Linda Croker, 55, is a volunteer at the food bank and works as a Welfare Rights Officer at Glasgow City Council.
She said: “It is such a good thing and people are really catching onto it
“Slow cookers are easy, and people don’t need to have a massive amount of ingredients to make something simple and tasty.
“We get a great amount of food, but for so many families that is just the beginning. Learning how to cook for a family of five is the next challenge.
“We had one woman come to help us bag up food, and she took a slow cooker away with her. She said that she hadn’t cooked for her children before, and that night she made something and sent a picture in, and couldn’t believe how easy it was.”
Linda says that the ease of having a slow cooker is instrumental in teaching people how to cook cheap meals that are healthy and tasty.
Linda said: “Each family were given potatoes, carrots, turnip, everything that you would have in your fridge. With donations we gave spices and meats so we could give a good package of fresh food.
“The meat was supplied by David Millen butchers and the veg from Firm Banana at Blochairn fruit market, so it was all local.”
Unlike other food banks who have a limit on how many visits a person or family can make, or who need a referral, the food bank within Cartyne & Riddrie Credit Union distributes food parcels on a rolling unlimited basis.
“We don’t want to just give a few tins or bags of rice and pasta. We wanted to give fresh food, the ability to make a nourishing meal, and educate people on what they can make for themselves.
“People are just not getting money when they need it, hardly any help. I don’t know how people can do it. Doing this is the least that we can do.”