Sainsbury's Saltcoats

Lochwinnoch Food Committee is a dignified food project with a Pantry distributing surplus food from supermarkets four days per week. We deliver parcels to vulnerable houses on a fifth day, and out Community Fridge/Freezer is open 24/7 for members. Membership is free and we operate on a pay-what-you can donation basis. We have nearly 2000 members and more than 70 volunteers aged from 12 to 80! The aims of the projects are to tackle food insecurity locally as well as the climate emergency. We grow our own food too in local sites. The Larder is about more than just food though - it's a social hub where friendships form and people connect. We're reducing social isolation and also helping to signpost people to other support services; it's easy to fall through the gaps when living rurally. People from across Renfrewshire and North Ayrshire access the project - all are welcome! We also run free cooking classes as fermenting demonstrations. We also have two sister-projects: the Feel Good Festival is a programme of wellbeing events designed to help build community, connect people and tackle mental health. We also have Diggin' It which is an initiative supporting people to grow their own food from their own homes. It includes a free Seed Library and a garden equipment swap-shop. We are also developing a new project idea to help us become more financially sustainable. the idea is for this to be a retail space and Community Hub. We hope to develop a community kitchen, charity shop and pop-up eatery which we can use for all the projects and could also help generate some income. Between the projects, we can use pretty much any kind of surplus - food, kitchen equipment, homeware, clothes, decorating equipment and tools, gardening equipment and plants.

The Village Larder is part of Community Roots, a charity supporting the people of West Kilbride in several ways. People using the village larder are able to access foods at a subsidised price. So, they may do their usual shopping in a regular store, but come to the larder once a week to top up their normal shopping. This is made possible by donations of food and money from the local community, both individuals and organisations. Our members pay a weekly fee of £4 or £6 (depending on household size) and choose food for up to four times of the normal value. We are currently helping around 50 families per week. The village has several small food shops including a Cooperative but access to the larger supermarkets is by bus, several miles away. Many people use the larder for a few weeks or months while they deal with unforeseen difficulties, and will then stop using the larder as their circumstances improve. Access to the larder is for anyone who needs it- we don’t do financial or benefit checks. We are looking to collect food from supermarkets and other outlets that is on or just past its best before date- food that would be thrown away by the supermarkets but is still perfectly safe to use. Any surplus food (eg from neighbourly or other contacts we have) is available to larder members at no cost. We try to make sure that shoppers only take a fair amount of the free surplus food so that there is something for everyone who shops with us. This gives a boost to people’s shopping and they really appreciate the fruit, vegetables, bread and other items that we can offer. It enables people to have a healthier, more varied diet. One member said that her children are really excited on larder days as they never know what treats she will bring home.

The Ardrossan Church of the Nazarene operates across North Ayrshire assisting whole communities and individual households through its range of spiritual and social programmes. The social programmes include our gardening group at the church, our food growing project at various locations throughout the local authority. The cinema offers free big screen shows of the latest films at venues across the area. The Foodbank assists households on an authority wide basis as well as offering a local larder within Ardrossan itself. A new project is called "Community food exchange" whereby households can put food into our shop location swell as take any food they see (collected from our supporting supermarkets). We run a children's anti-hunger programme which has two programmes. One brings children together and is called "Make a meal of it" and the other is outreach work and is called "Junior chef (we provide ingredients, recipes and support to cook meals at home).