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

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 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

£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

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.

Action Old Kilpatrick has worked in partnership with West Dunbartonshire Councils Greenspace Team for a number of years which has included the use of a large greenhouse situated in Old Dalnottar Cemetary. This has allowed for the group to grow a variety of plants from seed and distribute throughout the flower beds in the village. We have successfully grown vegetables for the community including a herb bed.

However, the greenhouse has not been utilised to its full potential due to the demands required of water and volunteer hours.

The installation of a watering system will allow AOK to grow more vegetable and herbs for the benefit of the community. We have two established food banks servicing the area and a housing complex and having a greater amount of food available will help us directly respond to a growing need for fresh, accessible, free food within the community. 

The Total Cost is £491.52

Water Butt  x3  £123

Soaker Hose x4 £104

Timer Hose  £62.82

Standard Hose £17,54

Connector Kit x4 £34.16

Seeds/plants/ compost £150

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

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.

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 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.