Birth, Baby and Beyond could close within months due to a funding crisis

A charity which helps families when a new baby arrives faces a fight for survival.

Birth, Baby and Beyond (BB&B) has helped more than 45,000 families in Glasgow over the past eight years.

However the charity could be forced to close within months due to a funding crisis.

The charity’s shop in the city’s west end has been left struggling since the coronavirus pandemic and BB&B was one of many organisations to be knocked back for funding through the Glasgow Communities Fund from Glasgow City Council.

Throughout lockdown, BB&B has been delivering baby food packs and starter packs mums in need. They've also been providing formula milk without referral to mum's whose babies would otherwise be malnourished.

The charity’s founder Natasha Earle told Glasgow Live: "We were contacted and told to apply for the fund and that we meet all the criteria for an application to be successful. In the meantime, we didn't apply for any smaller funds so now we have nothing.

"We're tackling food poverty on a scale that no one else is. We want to stop women from having to go through loads of hurdles in life to get what they need for their baby.

"I can't get my head around why Glasgow City Council didn't identify us as a worthy cause of support.”

The charity has three months’ of supplies left and no funding to secure any more.

A petition calling for the charity to receive funding from Glasgow City Council has amassed 4,300 signatures and an emergency fundraiser has also been launched.

A spokesman for Glasgow City Council said: “Demand for grant support has been exceptional – with applications received for well over double the total value of the fund. Unfortunately, this was always going to mean disappointment for some organisations with applications that scored less highly during assessment.”