Thousands of Dundee children will get delivery of a free lunch this summer – thanks to two new electric vans.
Since 2016, charity Dundee Bairns has been distributing meals to kids across Dundee.
This summer, workers at the charity were overjoyed to get their hands on two new electric vans.
The vehicles mean volunteers can get 26,000 lunches to children without building up a large carbon footprint.
The charity previously used diesel vans or cars to deliver their free lunches.
Susan Maxwell is a project worker with Dundee Bairns.
“It’s helping Dundee as part of the bigger picture,” she said.
“We are helping to create a better environment for these Dundee Bairns.”
Dundee Bairns can ‘make a difference’ by cutting their emissions
The vans are packed with 200 sandwiches, 200 juices, 200 apples and more. They leave Hilltown to distribute the lunches to some of the 75 projects they will be supplying over the summer.
Many low-income families struggle to provide meals during school holidays, as well as other basics for their children, such as clothing and stimulating opportunity.
This is especially prevalent in Dundee City where where more than a third of children are living in poverty, the charity says.
Members of the charity were able to purchase an electric van after being awarded funding from the Dundee Climate Fund. Auto Services in Perth also gifted the charity an extended loan of the second electric van.
The Dundee Climate Fund awarded a total of £750,000 to projects across the city which aimed to help the local environment.
David Dorward is the charity’s chairman. He said when they heard about the Dundee Climate Fund, they knew they had to get involved.
“We thought: well, wait a minute. As a charity, we do a lot of travel and driving,” he said.
“This used to be in a diesel van. I thought, if we can change that, we can make a difference to our footprint.”
The friendly folk who work with Dundee Bairns will deliver 26,000 meals over the summer.
From Monday to Friday for six weeks, the catering team make up hundreds of lunch packs for Dundee kids.
Many of these are volunteers who have given up their own time to make sure children in Dundee receive the lunches.
The Dundee Bairns team then pack up the vans and get the lunches out to schools and community projects across the city.
Electric vans save the Dundee charity money too
Previously, Dundee Bairns had to rent a diesel van each summer. This could amount to £1,000 over the six week period, for both the rental cost and fuel.
Volunteers would also use their own cars, which meant reimbursing them for the fuel.
Now, these vans mean they can charge up and get around the city cheaper.
David estimated that they will only be spending £100 over the six weeks to charge their vans, so it is one tenth of the previous cost.
The team said the need for these free meals has grown since the cost of living crisis began.
Dundee Bairns are grateful to all their volunteers who help them deliver lunches to the kids in need.
Susan said: “Because they know that the help they’re giving is going to the children of Dundee, they are really keen to get stuck in.”
