Our funds are depleting rapidly due the current and predicted raise of utility costs and this has affected and will continue to affect the use of the Village Community Hall for our villagers as a meeting place that provides support, fun, health and wellbeing and reduce loneliness and isolation for villagers of all ages in our community and surrounding area.

The 2025 plan until June includes regular village and community meetings; Bingo night; Ceilidh night; Quiz night; Learn and Grow sessions; Drop In and Chat Group; Easter Week activities and events; a proposed Walking Group and Ukulele Group.

We have also made contact with ‘Men Matter’ as we have had interest in starting some form of Mens’ Group looking at such things as cycling and recycling, walking football/exercise in the new MUGA; Pat Testing; and enhancing our park facilities identifying skills that that can be shared to help in enhancement our village environment.

Working with WDC Greenspace we were delighted to secure a WDC Large Grant Funding and Landfill Tax Funding for the installation of a new MUGA in the King George V Field in Milton. When completed it is envisaged that our Village Community Hall will be used even more and will encourage all ages to be more active having a positive impact on overall health.

We worked with Business Energy Scotland for 18 months concluding in a large grant application for conversion of the Village Community Hall to greener energy. In August 2024 this was deemed as unsuccessful. In the interim we have applied for other grants towards the 25% contribution required from our group, for a planning application and other small costs and were successfully awarded these grants which we will currently hold in our bank account until we are successful in securing the large amount of funds required to complete this project. 

To enable all of this to happen we are still actively working on this project in order to achieve meeting our greener energy targets and cutting our current utility costs by 75% as advised in our Business Energy Report to enable all this to happen.

We are currently in need of a new fridge/freezer, which due to inefficiency, requires replacement and should help towards reducing some of our overall running costs. 

Purchase of new fridge/freezer at a cost of £300.

Contribution towards food costs £500

Contribution to utility costs £1700 - Hopefully covering a six month period

In order for us to continue functioning in the way we have over the last two and half years as a group, we request the assistance of a total grant of £2500 in order to be able to sustain and utilise our community resources.

Equipment Costs:

• Cooker Hood Replacement: Our current cooker hood is no longer able to withstand the high temperatures generated during our weekly soup preparation. It has sustained significant damage and requires replacement. We anticipate a cost of £800-£1000 for a suitable replacement.
• Industrial Dishwasher: To efficiently handle the volume of dishes and cutlery used in the soup kitchen we need to replace our existing dishwasher with an industrial model. This upgrade is crucial to maintain hygiene and improve kitchen workflow. The estimated cost for an industrial dishwasher is £1,250.
• Kitchen Utensils: We are planing to invest £200-£250 in essential kitchen utensils. This will include items such as durable pots and pans, a high-quality toaster, and a microwave. These upgrades will enable us to prepare and serve meals more efficiently.

£500 Food purchase

Running costs for parent and toddler group, family arts and crafts, men’s mental health, women’s walking and social group, adult ceramics and book club.

All group sessions will run for 10 to 12 weeks and hot meals will be provided for all participants.  Participation will be targeted at those most likely to experience food poverty.  (room rental, utilities, materials for classes etc.) £2000

Foodshare is an independent registered charity which was started in March 2013 in order to help people experiencing food poverty. We started off doing emergency food provision covering all of West Dunbartonshire, this was suppoesed to be temporary but since then the need for the service has increased and our numbers for support are rising every year. we provide this support by home delivery as we find this is more dignified for people and we are able to reach more elderly and housebound people. Along with food support, the charity has since developed other much needed projects including a School Uniform Bank where we provide a new school uniform for kids going back to school and also run this throughout the year, Fuel Bank where we offer we offer emergency top ups for pre payment meters, School Holiday Brunch Bags where we provide breakfast and lunches each day the schools are off, A Christmas Toybank and a Babybank. We work closely with other local organisations to reach as many people in need in our community. The high cost of basic necessities is placing significant burden on low income families. Recently we have seen an increase in need amongst low income working families. We would use £500 for food and £2000 towards operating costs including, Rent Unit 21, Utilities, Fuel costs for deliveries.

The Phoenix provides a range of activities, groups and opportunities for residents of Dumbarton West.  At the heart of The Phoenix is a community cafe offering a free to access lunch three days a week and a community breakfast once a week.  It also provides holiday hunger provision and a range of other groups including toddler cooking classes and numeracy classes for adults built around cooking.  We also provide volunteer opportunities for adults to develop new skills, reduce isolation, improved wellbeing, and develop their employability chances.

Our switch from a comemrcial (although heavily subsidised) model to a free to access (although many provide donations) came about 18 months ago after consultation with service users and their concerns about the cost of living crisis and the food insecurity that would bring.  Local people have also acknowledged the importance of community and peer support the cafe has brought especially for single parents and those new to the community.  Many service users have also been able to access volunteer opportunities, access adult learning classes and access other groups and activites for their families.  This has reduced isolation and improved mental wellbeing. 

With much of the kitchen installed over 6 years ago, there are elements that could do with some upgrades and improvements.  This will allow us to continue to provide the key services we offer in the community cafe.

Upgrade of ovens: £1900

Upgrade of crockery: £100

Upgrade of drinks fridge: £500

Lomond Community Pantry started in October 2024 providing food provision for anyone in need living in the G83 postcode.  Anyone in the community can register as members and receive 10 items of consumables for £3 each week, without having to prove that they are in food poverty, thus reducing the stigma of being in need of welfare support.  We are open on Thursdays from 4pm-8pm, and Fridays 10am-4pm and have 92 members registered,  over 25 volunteers helping with the running of the Pantry.  We have repurposed the old BB hall in Jamestown as the Pantry and are grateful to West Dumbarton Council, Lomond Parish Church, Haldane Tenants and Residents Association and several local companies/groups for support in refurbishing the hall and establishing the food supply. Registration as an SCIO  (053796) was received in November 2024 allowing us to open a charitable bank account on 3rd January 2025, during 2024 our finances were managed as a restricted fund by Lomond Parish Church.  

Our projection for running costs for 2025 is £16000, covering food provision (£9k), electricity (heating), insurance, rental (£5k), sundries (£2k). We will receive a revenue grant of  £3000 from WDC Cost of Living Welfare fund, and food donations from various groups in  the Vale of Leven Area, but we will require additional grant funding to sustain the Pantry, so a contribution of £450 for food provision and £500 towards heating costs would be appreciated.  We need to instal a compliant fire exit which  will cost £630 (hopefully fitted by volunteers).  While the WDC Community Payback team were installing level access to the Pantry, they had to remove the security gates and we need to replace these at a cost of £900 since the old ones were a H&S risk.    The intention is that ownership of the building will be transferred from Lomond Parish Church to Lomond Community Pantry during 2025, and we have permission from the Church to carry out the changes to the fabric of the building.

Such is the demand,  the Trustee Board are reviewing the opening hours to extend coverage to the beginning of the week.  We have made arrangements with local care workers to pick up supplies on behalf of members living  in local sheltered housing, and have provided emergency food supplies for West Dumbarton Woman's refuge. We've also had support from Balloch School Campus and made sure that all schools in G83 postcode know of our existance and can pass information to parents who may be in need.  Over the winter we have been providing a hot drink/ soup and biscuits to members, have a book library, and  a limited  school uniform bank.  

We are applying for £500 to purchase food for our community pantry which is currently supporting up to 150 people/families every week. Our drop in cafe offers a free two course hot meal cooked fresh on our premises.  Over the winter we are a warm hub for families who are struggling to heat their homes and also feed their children.  We provide vochers for warm clothing along with gas and electricity support for vulnerable adults and families.  The additional £2000 will enable us to support more families within West Dunbartonshire and continue to provide a warm safe place for our clients.

We are requesting funding to help with the cost of a sessional gardener to provide training/ support to our volunteers and plot holders.

In addition to food growing we run a twice weekly wellbeing in nature group, aimed at using greenspace and nature to reduce isolation, encourage people to spend time outdoors and experience the benefits of improved mental health and wellbeing as a result. Attendees can also take part in food growing activities if they wish.

The full cost of establishing the community plots will be in the region of £12,000 to £15,000, we have funding, and offers of in-kind support in place to cover this work.

To help people gain the skills to be successful at food growing, and support our plot holders and volunteers we wish to have a sessional community gardener on site for 3 to 4 hours a week for 30 weeks. Their role will be to plan and deliver workshops / sessions on growing fruit and veg.

Hourly rate for sessional gardener £20 per hour.

Breakdown of costs:

4x£20 = £80 per week     30 weeks @ £80 =£2400

£100 towards cost of  seeds for plot holders or to cover volunteer travel expenses if travelling by public transport for volunteer sessions.

The HUB will be committed to creating an inclusive, welcoming space for young adults aged 16 and above. Our mission is to foster personal growth, build strong social connections, and provide a platform for members to explore their interests and passions. We aim to accomplish this by offering a range of programs, including food budgeting, meal planning and sharing meals. Our senior youth group Ur-Turn prepares a meal each week to sit and share, and these moments are beneficial to all who attend. To continue this tradition and extend its benefits, we are introducing an additional evening session for the young adult in our community. 

We will provide guidance, support, and referrals to other organisations, addressing food poverty and dietary issues with the collaboration of outside agencies. By partnering with other organisations, we aim to offer the best support and guidance pathways to enhance the future confidence and wellbeing of our young adults. We are dedicated to establishing a safe, vibrant, and inclusive environment where individuals can connect, learn, and grow together. By offering a supportive and engaging atmosphere, we encourage personal development, community involvement, and the pursuit of shared goals. Our objective is to empower individuals through education, life skills, and active participation. All of our sessions will endeavour to improve their wellbeing, whilst focusing on preventive measures and raise awareness on issue-based topics such as substance misuse.

Cost Breakdown : 

Shared Meals programme = £500, Evening Sessions cost = £700, Administrative Costs = £300, Staffing and Facilitator Costs = £500, Utilities = £500.

We will use Grant money to purchase

Food vouchers £500

Running Costs - GoDaddy for email and website  £378 anually

Fuel to go round Local Authority to deliver Vouchers and attend meetings £150

Stationary to cover ink, labels, envelopes, paper etc. £300

Group Laptop to continue our Project £622

Power to run computer, printer etc. £200

Phone Costs £100