Charity projects do not normally start in hotel beer gardens, but it was needs must for Gayle Wilson.
The 37-year-old launched Leslie Community Pantry in 2020, worried about how local families would cope during the first coronavirus lockdown.
When she made it known on social media that she wanted to help, the team at the Station Hotel pub were the first to get in touch.
“The Station Hotel [team] suggested I run the project from there. The next day we were up and running.
“It has been a very fast moving project which has absolutely exploded over the last three years.”
Leslie Community Pantry started out with a simple table in The Station Hotel’s beer garden, offering food and other essentials free of charge.
But as it grew, bigger premises was needed.
In October 2020 a new home for it was found at Quarry Park Sports Pavilion in Back Braes, Leslie.
Gayle, who is operations manager, explains how it works: “Basically we are like a foodbank, but people don’t need to be referred.
“We offer non-perishable food items and toiletries,” she said.
“When families come to us, we give them a bag.
“They can then choose the items they are needing.
“We give them enough food to see them through two days, three days at the most.
“So for example, if people don’t get their money until tomorrow and have nothing for their dinner tonight, we will give them something for their dinner and breakfast the next day.”
Why did Gayle want to help?
The mum-of-two lives in Glenrothes with husband Andrew, 35, and their son Julian, 9, and daughter Coren, 7.
“I grew up with nothing at all,” she remembers.
“I grew up in Macedonia (in Glenrothes) which is quite a rundown area so I am fully aware of what it is like for families to go without.
“We never went on holidays or did activities and our whole community was like that.
“I want to try and making everything we do as inclusive as possible so that everybody can come together and have a good time.”
How does the Leslie Community Pantry work?
The project has been providing food and essentials to those experiencing financial difficulties in the local area since 2020.
“We were just three weeks into lockdown and I was a bit worried about families in our community and how they would manage because it is quite a deprived area,” she recalls.
“There was so much uncertainty, especially for people who were self-employed and lost their income overnight. Not everybody knows how to obtain a foodbank voucher so I was concerned about people who might be struggling.”
The pantry supports all ages in the community. Currently the project is helping between 130 to 150 families a month. Around 30-40% of them have children under the age of five, Gayle says.
“We see quite a number of families where the mum and dad work full time but on five week months they come to us. On the fifth week they are just struggling to make ends meet.
“With the cost of living people are finding it hard to make their money stretch because everything has gone up in price.”
Gayle said there are also a number of retired people who use the pantry: “It’s heart-breaking to see them because they have worked all their days but they just don’t have enough in their pension.”
Gayle knows she wouldn’t be able to help those in need without the support of her volunteers.
“I have the most amazing group of volunteers. The majority of them have been here since day one.
“If it wasn’t for them, I wouldn’t be able to do what I do and I don’t believe the pantry would be where it is today.”
