M&S Dumbarton

We provide a safe and warm space for service users to receive a hot meal and drinks, and offer a food bank service where we ensure individuals and families have enough food to last them over the weekend. You can find us every Thursday from 11.30am at Trinity Church in Renton. We never refuse to help someone in need. We also provide help and support with clothes, easter and christmas. If you have and questions please feel free to message our facebook page which can be found on here.

To assist the “Homeless” and others on the pavement, or in hostels, or in the community generally, who are in need of assistance. This may be visually / verbally / writing asking for help, looking like they need assistance or simply presenting as in need of assistance. Assistance comes in the form of our 2 initiatives - the TWALK and the TDROP The TWALK, provides hot drinks, soup, other foods and warm clothing on a non-judgemental basis for those who present as needing support. And it provides a listening ear for people who find themselves living in isolation and provides information and moral support service and some signposting, to more formal and expert help, to those on the streets who seek it. Our TWALK activity roams the streets of the Glasgow City centre, looking - often in their customary places - for those in need of help. We are often approached directly on the street by those seeking help who identify us by our Hi Viz jackets. The TDROP, promotes the ethos of ‘zero waste’ by working with stores in Glasgow to ensure that any food that they have, due to be disposed of, can be used by the Project. By distributing these goods to those who present as needing support or to “Homeless” shelters., or to Community food initiatives. Our TDROP activity uses a directory we compiled and keep up to date of Hostels for the homeless as the targeted venues for our food deliveries. No charge is ever levied.  Conversely we sometimes receive donations in cash in the moment from members of the public observing us carrying out our activity.  This is used to directly fund supplies for our project. In addition we would hope to continue to participate in toy donation activities especially at Xmas, with our main focus being on a Children's Hospice. We hope also to continue to make occasional donations of "hardware" such as laptops. bikes, fridges, freezers, and dishwashers. We would hope to repeat an initiative this Xmas Eve, replicating last year, of distributing parcels (mainly food). This was organised by two of our volunteers and supported by some others. We have a storage facility rented from Safestore at Port Dundas, Glasgow, but our preparatory activity is done within the homes of the volunteers. We collect donated food from various stores - see below - in accordance with any rules that they apply. We are members of the Glasgow Community Food Network, and of the Interfaith Food Justice Network.

Established in May 2017 with just four employees, Well-Fed has grown into a thriving social enterprise employing 13 people and creating enormous social and economic impact within our community and beyond. Trading from our first premises within the Whiteinch Centre, Well-Fed created a safe social space open to the entire community. Over the past 3 years Well-Fed has transformed a small kitchen and cafe space (circa 1000 sqft) into a thriving and flourishing business, with a turnover in the last financial year of £350,000, although more remarkable than this, is the social and economic impact that has been created. Being a truly community led organisation, Well-Fed has worked to tackle the issues identified by the community, in their community. Food poverty, social isolation, lack of opportunity and barriers to inclusion have all been identified as key social issues within the Whiteinch area of the city and as an organisation Well-Fed have responded by providing: Over 33,000 FREE meals to the local community (Monetary value £130,000) Offering FREE school holiday activity and meal provision to over 300 children and their families across all school holidays (Monetary value £165,000) Redistributing over 7000 crates of FREE (approx 125 Tons) surplus food through our dignified food pantry model (Monetary Value £300,000) Operating a FREE homework and learning club with food provision for an average 60 children and their families each week (Monetary value £45,000) Providing a full program of FREE wellbeing activities inc. training and volunteering opportunities to adults and young people (Monetary value £60,000) Hosting over 50 FREE community events with food provision including Christmas Day 2017, 2018 & 2019 (Monetary value £37,000) Total equivalent Monetary value of £737,000 invested in the Whiteinch community As our community engagement has continued to grow year on year and the demand for our service becoming increasingly more complex and multi-faceted, it is clear that Well-Fed has become a much needed and relied on service to the Whiteinch community.