Brunch Club is a recipe for success
The Brunch Club Community Café at West Calder Community Centre did its first round of deliveries recently as the newly set up Brunch Club @ Home.
The first day they delivered was March 23 when volunteers handed out 12 two- course meals to older and isolated local residents in West Calder and Polbeth who were regular customers of the café.
That night the UK went into lockdown and one month later The Brunch Club, now in partnership with Braid House Day Centre in Howden, Livingston, are together producing and delivering more than 200 two course meals each day.
Trust manager Matt Pearce said: “Over that first week our two organisations realised we could do so much more together.
“We were already getting requests from beyond our village and they wanted to deliver meals to their day centre clients. We both wanted to do as much as we could for the wider community and the following week we were working in partnership.
“With the Braid House team, their larger kitchen and adding their resources into the mix we were able to expand and to make even better use of the trust’s funding and money we generously received from banks community fund.
“So big thanks to Ray Baird and his Braid House team. Robert Boyd in particular leading the kitchen crew ( Jackie, Shannon and Jimmy), their drivers Derek and Michael and the back room crew of Lynda and Alyson. They have worked together brilliantly with our brunch club superstars Denise and Leona, the rest of the trust staff team (Niamh, Mhairi, Roisin and Amy).
“The real stars in this have been our amazing community volunteers who have distributed the meals here in West Calder, Polbeth and Addiewell – and those in the other communities – it’s been humbling to see the support.”
Ray Baird chief executive of Braid House added: “Now we are able, together and in partnership with other groups like West Lothian Youth Action Project and Whitburn CDT, to get these meals to our own isolated clients and to those who need them across a much wider area which is great.
“We do not have limitless capacity but we will do our best with the resources we have to do as much as we can. The partnership and team are working well and we’re really glad that we are supporting so many communities and groups in local areas across West Lothian .We have been getting such lovely messages of thanks from folk – and that reminds you what it’s all about.”
The Brunch Club Community Café is a joint venture between West Calder & Harburn Community Development Trust (WCHCDT) and West Calder Community Centre.
WCHCDT would like to give a huge thanks to The Banks Group and their Community Fund who have generously supported community Covid19 response work in our ward area.
An application led by the trust in partnership with Polbeth Community Hub Scottish Charity Incorporated Organisation (SCIO) and working with Stoneyburn & Bents Future Vision Group, Addiewell Community Council, Breich and Longridge Community
Associations, has secured £13,000 for a range of activities.
The money has supported The Trust to provide Brunch Club @ Home meals to Addiewell, Longridge and Breich and to Fauldhouse ( where they distributed locally as Hub Meals) and to support Polbeth Community HUB Scottish Charity Incorporated Organisation SCIO in their food parcel and support project and Stoneyburn & Bents Future Vision Group in their own Vision Express Meals service.
WCHCDT chair, Gavin Henderson, said: “It has been great to see the community anchor organisation across the ward work together and support each other, it’s been a great collective effort – and one we hope will benefit us all in the future and lead to more partnership working.”
Now substantial funding secured from the Scottish Government via the Development Trust Association and from West Lothian Council’s Food Fund will enable The Brunch Club @ Home and Braid House to keep this service to the local community and other groups going for the next stage of this crisis.