We are applying for funding to help towards our utility costs over the colder months when our bills are at an all time high. We run a food pantry, community cafe, warm hub and laundry service to vulnerable families who are struggling in financial hardship. Our running costs have increased by 30% since last year as a result of a surge in the demand for our services.  an average of 400 families visit us on a monthly basis and it's important that our building is warm, inviting and welcoming especially during the colder months.  our heating costs are averaging £1,200 although we haven't yet had a winter period in our new premises therefore we are very worried about what kind of increase we may see. 

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.

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

£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

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.

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

CLYDEBANK OSPREY AMATEUR BOXING CLUB are looking to set up a dry food pantry to help the local community. This will help not only the existing club participants but also make the club welcoming to all local residents hopefully encouraging them to participate in exercise in a warm, safe comfortable enviroment.  This will lead to life long health benefits and an increased sense of community in the locals area.

Community pantry build £1200 (including food purchase)

Running costs (utilities etc)  £1300

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

We need to purchase a cooker and cooking utensils, teaching equipment, food, paying utilities and distributing the hot meals to the relevant people. This will involve the beavers (6-8 year olds), Cubs (8-10 year olds) and Scouts (10-14 year old).

beavers will be instructed on how to make basic sandwiches, cubs how to utilise basic equipment such as microwaves and scouts full blowing meals on the cooker. This will be done by looking at menus, getting the appropriate food , ie shopping and then how to prepare the food by chopping and carving food for cooking, then actually cooking the food. We will be advising the young people to time the cooking so that the food will be finished at the same time . We will inform the young people of issues with allergies and as the community is wide and have different cultures we will inform them of the differing types of food that is made through out the world and have respect for these communities,.

we will be distributed to local care homes, distribution to older and disabled people via relavent charities such as Clyde Shopmobility and relevant older people and disabled charities within the town. We will look at people who are isolated in their house and try to engage with them. As the coronavirus virus has lead to more and more people to have mental health issues we will try and engage with this community to ensure vthey can get warm food

This project will benefit the young people within  6th Clydebank  Scouts and endeavour the Scouts to have a good presence within the community.

We will then distribute the food appropriately 

cooker 900

food 500

utilities 900

distribution 200

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.