The Courier & Advertiser (Angus and Dundee)
New food hub helping hundreds of residents
Acommunity project has collaborated with councils in Angus and Aberdeenshire, and Fareshare to provide produce for around 1,000 people living in food poverty.
Brechin Pantry chairwoman Kathy Calderwood has been working hard to get the West Angus and Mearns Food Hub up and running and is thrilled that a collaborative approach among local councils has borne dividends.
She said it showed how people in need, especially in rural areas, can benefit from councils joining forces for the good of their communities.
Kathy said: “We were trying to work out a delivery system for the last few years from the Fareshare Dundee depot.
However, they were short of vans and logistics were a nightmare.
“At the end of the year, Fareshare managed to set up a depot in Perth that has eased their logistics.
“I spoke to Fareshare Dundee at the turn of the year and within 48 hours we had established a food aid hub within Brechin managed by the Brechin Pantry and delivering to the independent food larders and pantries across west Angus, Mearns and Kincardine.
“Angus Council has provided all the refrigeration, the freezers and all the work needed as well to get things up and running. They have also seconded a communities team member for Brechin to work with me.
“We have also had help from Aberdeenshire Council, too, so it’s great to see them, Angus Council and Fareshare all working together.”
With the new service now fully operational, it is smaller community food hubs which are now enjoying the benefit.
Kathy added: “Larders in Auchenblae, Inverbevie and Fettercairn that were set up as a direct response to Covid-19 are still operating and still see the need for help.
“Instead of getting one delivery a fortnight coming from Laurencekirk, they will now see a collection every week from Brechin where they can pick up what they want.
“I phone them on a Monday, tell them what we have and they put their order in.
“A bigger range of produce is encouraging a more frequent delivery of food aid and it also means we have approximately 12 different larders from Aberdeenshire and Angus all working together and getting to know each other.”
Community larders differ from foodbanks by the fact anyone can use them.
“People can visit the larder when they need something – and then donate when they can, too.
And there is a huge number of people living in food poverty receiving help from the new hub.
Kathy said: “Looking at all the areas together between Kirriemuir, Montrose, Brechin and these other seven or eight larders in Mearns, we are feeding about 1,000 people a week.
“The most important thing for me is that our rural areas are now going to be served consistently with a great selection of food produce.”
Angus Council’s communities director, Stewart Ball, revealed that previous positive working partnerships they had formed with the pantry were key to the new food poverty initiative.
He said: “Our communities team has enjoyed an enduring and effective partnership with the pantry and with established structures already in place before the pandemic, we were able to hit the ground running in this time of greatest need.
“Through the excellent work and commitment of everyone involved, we hope that this hub has helped to ease the understandable concerns and uncertainty that many people have due to impact of the pandemic and that individuals and families can both feel and are supported.”