The Courier & Advertiser (Angus and Dundee)
Monifieth food project a big hit
Monifieth Parish Church’s Food for All project has been upping its quantity of soup bags and jacket potatoes every week such is its popularity.
If you are going through Monifieth town centre on a Thursday recently you may have seen some activity outside the church on High Street. This is the happy band of 10 volunteers who are helping to run the kirk’s Food for All project which has really taken off since its launch three weeks ago.
People in the town can pick up a bag that includes ingredients for making soup or a pre-booked baked potato which can be stored in their fridge for up to 30 days.
And Food for All is just that – for everybody, explained organiser and church elder, Irene Coull.
“It came about from our minister, Fi Reynolds, who got a communication from Voluntary Action Angus (VAA) telling us about the project and asking if it was something Monifieth would be interested in doing,” she said.
“Fi contacted me and I had conversations with VAA and then our session had to OK it. They agreed unanimously to do this and it was as simple as that.”
Working in partnership with Stirfresh and Upper Dysart Farm’s Community Larder project, Food for All has gone straight to Monifieth people’s hearts.
“Stirfresh from Upper Dysart Farm deliver all the vegetables on a Wednesday morning and we just them
in the fridges here and on a Thursday we distribute them for four hours – although it is usually gone after two so they have upped the quantity every week,” Irene said.
“It all comes ready. The vegetables are pre-packed, the baked potatoes are pre-cooked, vacuum packed and keep for 30 days so it is just a case of people
deciding when to use them – absolutely amazing! It is a mixture of different vegetables every week.
“The initial response has been very, very good.
“The people taking a turn on the rota have been hearing great things and it is just about getting the word out there that it is for everyone – anyone at all who wants can take
something away. That is the beauty of the whole thing, it is Food for All – free!
“Naturally the church wants to be involved in anything like this and through the pandemic we have been allowed to open for that kind of thing, so it has been OK for us to do it, as you are allowed to open if it involves food.”