Winter can be a tough time for many families, pensioners and people living alone.
The cost of heating a home, paying household bills and what feels like ever-increasing food prices takes it toll whether you’re in work or not – and that’s before you count the cost of Christmas.
So, if you’re feeling the pressure of the cost of living it’s worth popping into Old Kilpatrick Food Parcels (OKFP) in the Napier Hall, Old Kilpatrick.
The local charity provides the only FREE food pantry in West Dunbartonshire which is open five days a week and helps an average of 500 households a month to make their money go further.
Maureen Cummings, the charity founder, explained: “We started OKFP during the pandemic and provided pre-made parcels with store cupboard basics.
“But when the pandemic ended, we wanted to let people using our service decide what they wanted in their bag, so we became one of the first food pantries in West Dunbartonshire.”
Now people can visit Napier Hall any weekday between 12 – 2pm and choose what items they want in their bag.
Maureen added: “Visitors can choose five items from a wide range of store cupboard essentials, plus fresh bread and chilled items when available and can stock up from the pantry once a week.
“We also have a food waste area which is filled daily.
“Visitors can help themselves to this fresh produce and items close to the use by date, as often as they like.
“Plus, our Chatty Café is open from 12 – 4pm and is donation-based.
“There are no criteria for using any of our services. If you are under any financial pressure or needing help, you’ll find it here.”
The charity has a large team of volunteers who help support the food pantry and, thanks to funding from Working4U and the National Lottery Community Fund, they have created two new
positions to run the service.
Angela Paul started volunteering with the charity in 2021.
In 2022 funding from Working4U created a part-time position which Angela secured and the following year further funding from the Scottish Government provided not only job security but also Level 2 SVQ training in Customer Service overseen by Working4U.
This August, a grant from the National Lottery Community Fund saw Angela promoted to full-time manager of the food pantry and she is currently studying for her Level 2 Customer Service SVQ.
Maureen said: “We were delighted to be able to keep Angela in this position, she has been an integral part of the service and helped with the growth of the food pantry and our move to
Napier Hall.
“She is much-loved by her team of volunteers.”
To find out more about OKFP’s services or to donate, check out their website www.okfp.org.uk
