Food charity quadruples its response in lockdown

A food charity has quadrupled its Tayside and Fife response during lockdown to deliver enough produce to create almost half a million meals.

Since the pandemic outbreak, Fareshare has seen demand soar and distributed more than 200 tonnes of food to charities, local organisations and response groups on the Covid-19 frontline.

That compares to the 2019 full-year performance when enough food to create 1.2 million meals was given to just over 150 charities and community groups across Dundee, Perth and Kinross and Angus, including homeless hostels, domestic violence refuges, breakfast clubs and foodbanks

Charity chiefs have praised the “extraordinary” efforts of its supporters and volunteers during the coronavirus pandemic.

Fareshare said it had signed up an additional 24 frontline charities in the weeks since lockdown began, including eight Covid-19 response groups in Dundee and local authority food hubs in Angus, Perth, Fife, Clackmannanshire and Kinross.

As well as fresh food, the charity is also now providing packets and tins to help create food parcels for the vulnerable and those self-isolating.

Chris Doig, manager at Fareshare Tayside and Fife, said: “Because of the lockdown many more families and individuals are finding themselves in really tough circumstances, and demand for our food has skyrocketed.

“We’re doing everything we can to continue to get food on to people’s plates, whether that’s delivering fresh food to homeless hostels and domestic violence refuges, or supplying community organisations with the packets and tins they need to get vital food supplies on to the doorsteps of families who are self-isolating.

“We’re incredibly grateful to our team of volunteers who have gone above and beyond to get this food out, and to everyone who has made a donation.”

There are Fareshare collection points in Tesco stores at Kingsway, Dundee; Monifieth and Arbroath.

Fareshare has also played a vital part in the success of a series of community larders which have opened up across the Mearns.

Community councils led the initiative.