Sponsored content: Did you know that Cyrenians FareShare covers central and southeast Scotland redistributing high quality surplus food to charities, community groups and other organisations feeding their communities?
Following the Covid pandemic, the rise in the cost of living and the declaration of housing emergencies from councils across Scotland, the demand for affordable, fresh food has steadily increased.
Cyrenians is tackling the causes and consequences of homelessness - working in partnership with FareShare, a charity dedicated to mitigating food waste. By working with major retailers and suppliers such as Co-op, Tesco and Asda, Cyrenians FareShare redirect high quality food to those who need it most.
Between 2023-2024, the Edinburgh team were able to deliver 2 million meals worth of good-to-eat food, saving over 800 tonnes from ending up in landfill from their small depot space in Leith.
Earlier this year, Cyrenians moved its surplus food depot from Jane Street to a larger warehouse on Seafield Way. By moving to this new location, Cyrenians has expanded its capacity and built upon existing services to strengthen communities throughout central and southeast Scotland.
Now it is inviting organisations to learn more about the work it does, the support it provides and how people can get involved by hosting an open day event on Saturday, 27 September from 11am to 2pm to tour the depot and showcase the benefits of becoming a member.
The organisations who use the service are known as Community Food Members (CFMs), who pay a low-cost membership fee, which is flexible with multiple levels to meet the needs of those accessing the food to support their work. The Community Food Members work with Cyrenians to turn their surplus food deliveries into delicious and nutritious meals, food parcels and more. By working together, they’re able to create a network of support, ensuring no one slips through the net.
“We couldn’t do it without being a CFM, we wouldn’t be able to afford the equivalent costs.” – Mike Innes, head of operations and advocacy at Empty Kitchens, Full Hearts.
How does it work?
Food comes to the depot for a variety of reasons – sometimes because of packaging printing errors, or because the retailer has over-ordered. Once the items arrive, they are sorted and logged onto an online database which community food members can view and make their own orders from. The order is then picked by a diverse group of dedicated volunteers and prepared to be delivered or collected by the CFM.
The depot also offers other services in addition to redistributing surplus food. It is also home to an employability programme and accredited forklift training courses, allowing participants to gain experience in a live working warehouse environment and support in applying for jobs, writing CVs and preparing for interviews.
If you’re looking to access quality foods at a low cost to support your organisations work, you can register your interest to become a CFM and find out more about the Cyrenians FareShare service by visiting its website.
