NORTH Ayrshire Foodbank is the latest beneficiary of an innovative Council fund.

They are set to receive £30,000 from North Ayrshire Ventures Trust (NAVT) towards their Food with Dignity Cooking Project.

The money will be used to buy equipment, such as ovens and freezers, that will allow the local foodbank to cook more meals and store fresh food at their Ardrossan base.

The project will also include a part-time chef and it’s hoped a range of volunteering opportunities will become available to those using the service – providing valuable skills and experience which could help them find new work opportunities.

As well as the NAVT funding, the Trussell Trust and Community Wind Power are also contributing to the project with £63,000 being provided to the Foodbank.

Audrey Sutton, Head of Service (Connected Communities) at North Ayrshire Council, said: “Ideally we wouldn’t want anyone in our communities to have to use the traditional foodbank service.

“However, we’ve worked very closely with North Ayrshire Foodbank for a number of years now and they have transformed from a foodbank hub to an innovative organisation that works with a range of community partners to establish a welcome approach to making good, healthy food more accessible to everyone.”

“We are delighted to be making this contribution for the Foodbank’s latest project. Not only will it enhance the service, it has the potential to provide training opportunities to people who use it. It will also increase opportunities to

support a food pantry approach with other community partners and to create a sustainable way of using food to bring communities together.”

The Foodbank is a key partner in the North Ayrshire Food Forum, which brings a range of groups together to align opportunities for growing, cooking and sharing food.

The NAVT grant programme was developed to enable voluntary, community and social enterprises in North Ayrshire to explore new opportunities to help them grow and improve long-term sustainability.