Sainsbury's Saltcoats

Supporting the Hayocks Community Hayocks in Stevenston North has the highest level of child poverty in North Ayrshire, with around 40% of children living in poverty, placing the area among the top 10 most deprived communities in Scotland. Hayocks Hall is the only community facility in the neighbourhood and acts as a lifeline for local residents. Through volunteers and community support, we provide a community café, a local larder, and a warm space with free Wi-Fi, helping families access affordable food, stay connected, and reduce isolation. We also link residents to vital services for food poverty, debt advice, and mental health support, while organising community activities that bring people together. Donations help us keep Hayocks Hall open, support families in crisis, and build a stronger, more connected community.

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 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).