A Rosyth food project supporting families in crisis plans to expand after being awarded £284,500 to take over an old bank building.
EATS (Edible and Tasty Spaces) Rosyth is using the grant from the Scottish Land Fund to buy the former Clydesdale Bank premises in Queensferry Road.
Project manager Karen Dorrat said the move would allow EATS Rosyth to provide more support for the community.
“It might mean that we’re also able to deliver new services and we might be able to bring in other organisations that could maybe offer something slightly different to the local community.
“Once we’ve got this we’ll be developing a new kitchen and putting that to good use, whether that’s through cooking classes or the educational side of our project.”
EATS Rosyth is also involved in promoting food sustainability.
It runs a wide range of projects, from delivering food parcels to those unable to leave their home and distributing surplus groceries donated by supermarkets, to nurturing a community garden and orchard, where children can learn about growing their own produce.
Karen said they help between 30 and 50 people a day from their current location at Rosyth Baptist Church.
She said when people come to collect food “we don’t ask any questions” and although they have the option of giving a cash donation, it is not compulsory.
“I would guess a good proportion of them are coming because they’re on low income.
“There will be people from a range of backgrounds. Some people may also be there because they’re interested in reducing waste.
“Since Covid there’s been an increased pressure on third sector organisations in general but with food organisations there’s a lot of data to show that the demand has increased on crisis food provision, whether its through organisations like ours or the Trussell Trust foodbanks.
“Obviously there have been a lot of knock-on effects that we expect to see for a while but there have always been people struggling financially in the area and we’re lucky that we can do something to help, and we have a lot of partner organisations that we can direct people to if they’re struggling with finances.”
EATS Rosyth was one of five projects across Fife to be awarded a share of £446,012 from the Scottish Land Fund.
North East Fife Community Hub, Crail Community Partnership, Earlsferry Town Hall Ltd and Newburgh Community Trust also received grants.
