IMPORTANT UPDATE ABOUT LOCHWINNOCH COMMUNITY LARDER

At Lochwinnoch Community Larder we’re committed to keeping this service running for as long as possible, but we need to be real about the possibility that the service may suffer some short-term reductions in order to survive the current financial situation. We have such excellent engagement and support with over 2000 members from across Renfrewshire and North Ayrshire, but mounting costs are harder to meet due to the challenging funding landscape. The kinds of costs we are trying to meet include:

• Utility bills for electricity and refuse collection

• Fuel expenses for collecting food

• Membership fees for Fareshare food supply

• Food growing costs and garden maintenance

• Staffing costs

• Insurance

• Costs for replacing essential equipment

We were very lucky to receive funding from the National Lottery last year which has gone a long way to sustain the project, but the reality is that we’re approaching a significant funding gap which may impact the service. Here is what we’re doing to mitigate that:

• We’re setting up income generation projects including Granny Mutch, our new charity shop.

• We’ve put in place technology to help facilitate donations on the ground as well as recurring monthly donations for anyone who wants to give in this way.

• We’ve developed a corporate sponsorship programme and are canvassing for support in this way.

• We’re working toward a match-funded community fundraising campaign via The Big Give which will take place at the end of April and see all donations doubled (more on this soon).

• We’re training up as many volunteers as possible to take on additional back-office tasks to help reduce staffing costs.

How can you help?

• Maybe you would be up for getting involved in our fundraiser in April by raising sponsorship for the Larder through a challenge or event of your own choosing.

• If you’re in a position to set up a monthly donation to the Larder, we would be grateful. You can do this via this link: https://givealittle.co/c/2QQTNB0tsrEUKJ9nWcgZQ6

• If you’ve got any time to volunteer, even if it is sporadic, we would love to hear from you. We have a range of roles including administrative work, driving roles, manning the Larder and growing food. 

• If you work for or know an organisation which has a budget for charity sponsorship, we would love to hear from them.

If you have any queries please get in touch via communitylarder@myleapproject.org

More info about our project is available at: https://www.myleapproject.org/the-larder