Inverness food project delivers 1000th meal since coronavirus lockdown began
Register for free to read more of the latest local news. It's easy and will only take a moment.
A food project normally only operational during winter has just delivered its 1000th meal since the start of the coronavirus lockdown.
Food For Families was set up 10 years ago by Inverness businessman David Sutherland and his wife Anne.
Inmates at Inverness Prison have been helping out with the cooking and project manager Alex Gilchrist said: “Things have really gathered pace since social workers suggested to us in late March that we should start up again to help families in hardship to cope with lockdown.
“We’ve passed the 1000 mark in meals, cooked by our own volunteers and by the prison, whose efforts are much appreciated, and we’re pleased that Culloden Baptist Church is doing some regular fresh baking for us. More than 180 meals a week are now being distributed.”
The Scottish Government’s Wellbeing Fund has given a grant to Food For Families, the first public funding for the cause.
“This grant is to provide bespoke packages to families referred to us through schools and social work sources,” Mr Gilchrist said.
“We find out what each particular family – and we’re dealing with households of up to six children – would prefer us to bring.
“In effect, we’ll be grocery shopping for them, including fresh bread, milk and veg. We’re also adding inexpensive clothes, footwear and toys, with board games being popular while the children are at home so much.”
Mr Sutherland said: “It’s heart-warming to see this volunteer effort successfully reinventing itself to help families identified by experts as being in genuine difficulty at this challenging time.”
Click here for more coronavirus news
