Liz Stewart from Dalmuir describes how an immediate food sharing response to increasing poverty in the community during last year’s lockdown has led to a determination to provide ongoing support to people in the area. Dalmuir is one of the communities taking part in Shaping the Future Together.

Volunteers at Dalmuir Barclay Church / Old Kilpatrick Food Parcels

It’s almost a year since I got this text early one morning ‘Mum, we need to open the church and help this group’.

Fiona, my daughter, had heard about the Old Kilpatrick Food Parcels (OKFP) initiative just starting out in the village pub in Old Kilpatrick. Fiona came up with a great suggestion that we open Dalmuir Barclay Church to help them. “Yes” was the answer from our Minister, Rev Dr Ruth Morrison and myself. This saw many emails back and forth to the Church Elders, Presbytery, Church of Scotland Insurance for permission and all the various rules and regulations that we must adhere to.

A date for starting was arranged, stock was delivered, bags made up and our doors were opened! Ten food parcels were given out that day. From last May the need for food parcels has grown to us helping an average of 100 adults and 54 children each week.

We recognise that, not only are we a Food Bank, but we are also helping to support our regular clients.

We have been getting to know a lot of our regulars by listening to what’s been happening in their lives. Through chatting, we are supporting them on the weeks when they are feeling good and the weeks they are feeling very down. Some have lost their job, some have been furloughed and on reduced income. Others have lost not only their job but a family member or family members due to either the pandemic or other illness. We are to here help anyone who is struggling and wish we could do more to help. There are a great many folks out there who need help and support.

Progress is being made on our plan to open a Drop in Café on a Wednesday and feedback from our service users has been promising. We hope people will feel comfortable and come into the church for a tea, coffee biscuit and chat.

This all became possible when we were accepted on to ‘Shaping the Future Together’, with Faith in Community Scotland. Being accepted onto the project was great for us but the bonus was getting funding to help us achieve our aims for a Drop in Café. The help and advice has been excellent. Our mentor had to answer many a question from me on form filling and has great patience!

Dalmuir Barclay are very happy to continue complementing the Old Kilpatrick Food Parcels and look forward to the journey with them and together with Faith in Community Scotland… we are shaping the future together.

Liz Stewart

A text, early one morning...