Lidl Tain

Kyle of Sutherland Development Trust (KoSDT) was established in 2011 to serve the districts of Ardgay and Creich in East Sutherland. The Trust was set up to counteract the economic decline that had occurred in the area following the opening of the Dornoch Bridge in the early 1990’s which had diverted traffic away from the area and resulted in the closure of local businesses. The aim of the Trust is to ensure that long-term, sustainable benefits are achieved throughout the community and the Kyle of Sutherland area. The Trust focuses on how best to utilise funding from local wind farms and renewable energy projects, while ensuring all match funding opportunities are identified and secured. Kyle of Sutherland Development Trust aims to develop projects that: Help maintain a strong sense of place Reduce social isolation and promote health and wellbeing for residents Build a confident, resilient community Make a difference to the lives of local people

To support vulnerable and marginalised people, living in the Ross shire and Sutherland areas to maintain and sustain their homes and to live independently.

Invergordon Food Larder is a part of Invergordon Community Hub and was set up to help people who are struggling due to the cost of living crisis and to ensure they aren't having to choose between heating their homes and eating, with an additional purpose of minimising food waste. We are a charitable organisation who are in the process of obtaining full charity status, to assist us in our goal of helping the people of Invergordon. We look to offer a judgement free zone where people can collect food and get information about additional support within the local area. FAQs What premises does your project operate from? We operate from 94b High Street, Invergordon, IV18 0DL How do you identify service users and their needs? We realise that, in this cost of living crisis, anybody can struggle, irrelevant of employment status. That is why we enable our service users to come to us. Our service is advertised on Facebook and within the local area. When members come to us, we do have a private space where they can talk to us if they wish to. The main information we ask is the number of family members. This allows us to identify the needs, understand the situation and deposit the food in a fair way amongst our service users. Are there any other services provided by your organisation other than food support? Currently, our main service is the Food Larder. We have previously had the Citizen’s Advice Bureau attend, so people can get additional advice, and in the future we are looking to run a group for Additional Support Needs and other community groups, on the days the Food Larder isn’t operating. We are registered with Blythswood and are able to make referrals to them for people who need additional support. Is there a charge for the service(s) provided by your organisation? There is no charge for our Food Larder Service. All our funding is sought by grants, which covers the running costs and the purchase of tinned items as and when required. Do you currently collect surplus food from any other retailers? In the past we had received donations from the Co-Op and we have had rare donations from Asda and Morrison. However, we are outside of the ASDA distribution area, Morrisons prefer to give their produce to other places and the Co-Op claim our chair and secretary are not local enough, despite us being in the area for the last six years, to do anything for the community. Has there been local press or similar that demonstrates your organisation's work in the local community? We have previously had local press and whoever donates to us goes on our weekly advertisements. Would it be possible to provide photographs of work that your organisation does in the local community? In order to protect the privacy and dignity of our service users, we do not take photographs. However, we do take pictures of the Food Larder tables with the food ready for distribution and have taken pictures of an event that was held by us in the local area.