ALDI DUMFRIES - ANNAN RD

We're a local charity and run a busy food surplus project called The Pantry, which runs seven days a week year round, with a drop-in centre every evening from 7pm. We have been in operation for many years and have worked with Neighbourly very successfully from its inception. We love being able to provide food and assistance to hundreds of people every week and are recognised and valued by the local community. We work closely with other services, especially Dumfries and Galloway Council - social work, education (secondary schools), criminal justice, etc. as well as the local prison and Dumfries and Galloway Health Board. In addition, we provide referred food parcels through our 'Foodbank' service. We greatly value our ability to provide food with dignity, not having to ask awkward questions and love the way we're able to ensure as much surplus food gets to be used and not wasted. We aim for 'zero waste' and attract attention from local people and organisations concerned about the environment. We value collaboration and networking, having set up communications groups connecting most of the local food providers. There's no point in allowing competitive attitudes to develop - we're all here to help people and we can do that much more effectively by working together as much as possible, fostering supportive relationships.

We are an established foodbank since March 2015 and are part of the Trussell Trust network. We are a very busy little foodbank that operate Monday to Friday 9-5, we have 60 referral agencies referring clients who are in emergency crisis that require our 3 day parcels and further support inhouse with our on site services to escape this crisis. We also operate a small soup kitchen and cooking sessions to educate those most at need and experiencing food poverty. We have great support but are always looking for more food sources and my attention has been brought towards you and we would be so grateful if we could be lucky enough to be part of your scheme.

We provide a space for young parents to come and share their experiences, learn from each other and support each other. We offer advice, signpost to other organisations and offer a variety of training and support. We operate out of the YMCA Centre, in Lochside, Northwest Dumfries. As part of our services, we operate a community café which provides affordable meals and free meals to those who need it. During holidays, we run a 'kids eat free' scheme where funding allows. A nursery and Toy Library also operate from the building, which allows for referrals. We also have a good relationship with the local primary and secondary schools, which helps raise awareness. The café is largely supported by volunteers of all ages and abilities. In addition to food support, we offer youth work services and mentor support to volunteers, deliver youth work sessions and deliver sessions in schools. All youth work sessions are free, including any food elements. Thanks to the FareShare Go scheme, we are able to provide free meals and snacks to the young people and café visitors, such as young parents, Senior Citizen groups and those facing financial difficulty. Our building once served as the local primary school until 2019. We then took ownership when it closed via a community asset transfer. We now operate as a Community Hub, home to other organisations such as Social Security Scotland, Citizens Advice, DG Voice, LIFT DG, Bump Baby and Beyond, and others. We were recently donated a defibrillator by the local high school, North West Community Campus, which was then installed by an electrician who donated his time and resources. This was featured in the local newspaper.