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.  

The Recycle Room is a community organisation based in Clydebank that accepts donations of clothes, household items, school uniforms etc. which are then made available, for free, to people in the community who need them. 

We make bundles for people who are moving into new homes that include things like plates, mugs, slow cookers, utensils, curtains, lamps etc which they otherwise may not have been able to afford.

We help a lot of vulnerable people in the community who are experiencing poverty and food insecurity, however we don't have the facilities to make food or give food away and therefore would like to apply for £1000, £500 of which would go towards purchasing Farmfoods vouchers and £500 would be for admin costs associated with giving the vouchers out. We see so many families each week who require this kind of support in addition to the support we already give and this funding would help us address this.

We are applying for £2,500 as we don't get any other support  from other agencies

We provide support signposting advice in collaboration with CAB who attend in person bi weekly and also offer support via referrals and phone numbers. We encourage carers to come in and not worry about their heating costs, we want to reduce isolation and we also provide support to over 110 kinship families within West Dunbartonshire 

We will open daily through Winter from 10am till 1.30 to facilitate this for families . 

£500 will be used for food 

The remainder will be spent on continuing support to both our weekly service. This will help with both volunteer and running costs 

We also require a soup urn and extra bowls dishes. 

Our project will pay for an experienced Community Garden Project Worker who will

Develop the project with the support of users and volunteers, Develop a seasonal food growing strategy for the space, Organise the allocation of raised beds , Provide ongoing support to all users , Liaise with local schools/nurseries and other local groups within the community to encourage wider engagement with the project, Organise weekly onsite tasks including maintenance and upkeep, Encourage and support the development of an allotments/growing spaces committee, Research further funding opportunities to support material/resource costs and long-term sustainability of the project

We believe our project will support the local community by

Providing the opportunity and resources for local people to grow their own fruit and vegetables, Providing local school children with basic gardening knowledge, highlighting the importance of healthy eating and increasing awareness of ‘where food comes from’, The users and participants will be able to supplement their family’s diets with food produced in the community growing space, Encouraging ownership and personal responsibility , Fostering collaboration and the benefits and positivity of working together, Providing a safe and inclusive space for people to meet and socialise – therefore reducing social isolation, Promoting intergenerational engagement through allotments/growing space users being supported to deliver gardening/growing sessions with local school children, Improving the physical and mental wellbeing of those involved

Breakdown of costs

£2,400 - Cost of Community Garden Project Worker to manage project/£20 per hour x 8 hours per week x 20 weeks

We grow our organic crops, in an off grid environment & share them free around our community.  Since our earliest days, we have had the aim to be able to offer a social cooking oportunity where we sow, grow, harvest & cook our own vegetables on site. We have gained the necessary skills over the last few years & are now ready to expand & to do this we need a power source. The most economic way to do this is to install a generator with electric hook up & we need your help to establish this system.  This would open up the opportunity for a wider community involvement bringing home the ease & value of simple , on the spot, crop growing techniques from plot to the pot.   No lingering transport miles/expense/time involvement-we can access our own fresh, healthy produce, full of the best of nutritional values, on our doorstep. Plus the added bonus of sharing, caring and growing in our understanding of each other as we grow through each season.  Creating this warm welcome space will provide much needed respite & shelter  from this ongoing, harsh climate of food & fuel poverty that deeply prevails within our community.

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

Our project aims to provide additional support to individuals and families in the local community by offering an additional breakfast session and afternoon soup and toasty session.  The initiative is designed to address food and fuel insecurity while also promoting mental wellbeing and offering a space for people to connect with others in their community.  

Key Objectives 

1 - provide access to free meals - additional breakfast session and a new afternoon session providing soup and toasties, available to all within the community

2 - reducing social isolation - encouraging social interaction and reducing isolation by giving people space to connect with others 

3 - combat food and fuel insecurity - ensuring that no one goes without food and the warmth they need throughout the day

4 - supporting wellbeing - offering a safe welcoming environment for individuals and families to socialise and feel supported 

5 - collaborate with local services - partnering with other local organisations to offer additional support, resources and information on services that could benefit individuals and families 

Cost Breakdown

Food - £500

Sessional Staff/Volunteer Costs (including training) - £1600

Catering Equipment - £400

Our project is to help anyone struggling with food poverty to be able to come in to Golden Friendships club and access either free freshly cooked meals or subsidised freshly coopked meals. We have projects ongoing throught the years that tackle social isolation where we bring people together with freshly cooked meals and some entertainment. We also host afternoons for families each month where we provide hot and cold drinks with hot and cold snacks. At the moment we are doing free freshly cooked meals October to end of March to help with the cost of living crisis.

What we would like to apply for funding for is new refrigeration. We are currently using domestic fridges and freezers and have been advised we should be using commercial items. 

The total cost of what we need is laid out below.  If we secured £2500 from Community Budgeting, this would go towards the total fund cost.

3 x Fridge Foster Xtra 600l @1,803.75  Refrigeration  £5411.85

2 x Freezer Foster Xtra 600l @1803.75  Freezers        £3607.90

1 x Chest freezer 504l                             Freezer          £1679.98

1 x Hot plate Warmer                              Plate Warmer  £768.00

                                                              TOTAL COST    £ 11467.73

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.

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.