New funding has been provided to help ensure no child in Dundee goes to bed on an empty stomach.
Dundee Bairns, has received £8,500 from Scotmid Co-operative’s Community Connect award scheme, who will use it to provide an evening meal for children who live in deprived areas.
The charity was awarded the funding after being shortlisted by the convenience retailer as one of nine good causes across Scotland to receive financial support from a total pot of £75,000.
Genna Millar, project co-ordinator at the charity, said: “Dundee Bairns was established with the purpose of providing free meals to children.
“This funding will go towards enabling the charity to implement a programme of Bairns Tea Clubs in primary schools in areas of multiple deprivation, which has been devised to ensure vulnerable children have access to a decent evening meal.
“This generous donation from the Community Connect Fund will help Dundee Bairns to provide Tea Clubs in schools across the city, helping vulnerable children have a vital evening meal and helping to challenge food insecurity for families.”
Fresh funding for garden project
A second Dundee charity has also benefitted from Scotmid funding.
Fintry Community Garden, a volunteer-led project to establish and nurture a green space which everyone can enjoy, has also received £8,500.
The funding will go towards the introduction of a multi-purpose building on the site, which will be used for a range of activities.
Sheila Downie, chair of the North Regional Committee at Scotmid, said: “The pandemic has created numerous challenges for communities to overcome and adapt to.
“Community Connect was established to enable us to extend the ways in which we can support the communities that we serve, and we are delighted to provide Dundee Bairns and Fintry Community Garden with this funding as they continue to provide vital support and outdoor opportunities within their communities.”
In normal times, Scotmid would typically select a shortlist of community projects which its members then vote on to allocate different amounts of funding.
However, due to the pandemic, the company’s board agreed that all shortlisted charities and community groups would receive equal amounts of funding within each region.
Since the initiative launched in 2017, more than £450,000 has been awarded to 54 good cause groups enabling key projects to come to life in local areas.
Dundee Bairns has supplied more than 300,000 meals to vulnerable children over the past four years and continued to supply thousands during both lockdowns and in between.
Dundee Bairns ready to serve up continuing support to vulnerable families in school holidays