A community larder is to be set up in Levenmouth in an effort to help people who are struggling with the price of food.
Volunteers based at the Centre in Leven will buy items in bulk at competitive prices and offer them to members.
Local people will be urged to join the initiative for £2 per week and, unlike a foodbank, they will not have to be referred by other agencies.
A similar project is currently being considered for Buckhaven Community Centre.
It is hoped the approach, agreed by members of Fife Council’s Levenmouth area committee this week, will reduce the stigma around accessing emergency food provision.
Period poverty will also be tackled with a range of feminine hygiene products available for those who need it.
The committee agreed to allocate £7,700 from its anti-poverty budget to get the project off the ground.
Levenmouth area manager Dave Paterson said the aim was to move away from purely charitable endeavours and towards creating a benefit for people who join the larder.
“The approach is part of a suite of anti-poverty interventions in Levenmouth which range from emergency responses right through to skills training and employability support,” he said.
“This approach aims to not just treat the symptoms of poverty but also find ways of breaking the cycle which a number of people in Levenmouth have been caught in.”
He added: “Food insecurity is one of the most pressing issues facing individuals and families within Levenmouth.”
Committee convener, SNP councillor Ken Caldwell, described the initiative as an excellent example of a community-led service with local people coming up with solutions to local problems.
“This approach tackles food insecurity in a dignified way by offering good food at low cost to members,” he said.
Meanwhile, councillors in north east Fife have allocated £85,000 to tackle issues caused by poverty there.
Discretionary payments for bus travel and emergency fuel and food payments will be allocated to those who need them.
Officers said the money would help an increasing number of people having to wait to receive benefits in the wake of welfare reform.
Other initiatives include a holiday activities fund to help people in crisis when the schools are off and a project to help homeless and elderly people over Christmas.
