The Press and Journal (Inverness, Highlands, and Islands)
Service is ‘invaluable’, says mother-of-two
Volunteers and members of the food pantry have called the service “invaluable”.
The shop is run by a small team of Woodsidebased volunteers and is open on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
Residents of the area queue inside the Woodside Community Centre from 3pm to 6pm and motherof-two Rachael Youngson was one of the first people to benefit from the scheme.
She called the service “invaluable” and hopes more are opened in the north-east after seeing the demand each week.
The 34-year-old said: “I was one of the first 30 that signed up when the project first launched and I now use it weekly.
“The three blue items are really helpful and it helps bring some variety into the shopping.
“Shopping here helps fill out the food shopping – maybe there are certain things I couldn’t get at the shop, but I manage to get here.
“The kids really like shopping here too. They get to see and pick what they want.
“I find the chilled foods, the meats and the washing powder are the most helpful. Especially the washing powder – household items like that go a long way.
“It’s invaluable and I hope there are more areas get their own pantry. I get asked by people about this and if there’s one opening in their area.”
Jill Bertam, 49, has been volunteering with the pantry since the beginning.
“It’s a great idea,” she said. “The food here helps you stretch your meals by two or three days.
“Everything in your basket we try to make sure is valued more than £10, that way you’re really getting a lot of value for £2.50. And all the money that’s made here goes right back into the community.”