Souper-idea to help get things back to normal
A community initiative in Pitlochry has seen soup simmering around Highland Perthshire.
Free soup kits containing everything needed to make a warming meal have been distributed by Pitlochry and Moulin Community COVID Support Group.
The idea has been not only to get pensioners and local families cooking but to incentivise a gentle, planned venturing out to the shops the first step for many.
Macdonald Brothers Butchers has supplied all the vegetables required to cook the recipes and the other ingredients, like stock cubes and tomato purée, is kept topped up by the support group.
This past week the recipe cards included in the bags have been for lentil soup but other variations - like tomato and basil and carrot and butterbean - help ring the changes.
The cards and the bags for the kits were supplied by Cat Gordon, community learning and development worker with Perth and Kinross
Council.
Local mum Carrie Kemp said:“Our community is really wonderful isn’t it?
“There was great excitement in the house when I brought the bag home.”
Speaking for Pitlochry and Moulin Community COVID Support Group, Judith Dingwall said:“We think it’s been a great success.
“So far about 25 kits have been taken home. Lots of people have told us they had been reluctant to go out but the prospect of making a delicious pot of soup helped them in many cases to take their first, tentative steps out of the house.
“They were pleasantly surprised to discover there was no queue at the butchers and the easy instructions provided by the recipe cards gave them a sense of purpose and achievement too, so everybody came away happy.”
Rory Macdonald, owner of Macdonald Bros Butchers, commented:“We were delighted to get involved.
“We were happy to help. It’s nice to see familiar faces return to us.”