North Edinburgh’s Covid-19 Foodshare Group is among the groups to share in the Scottish Government’s £10 million Supporting Communities Fund.
The funding from the Scottish Government’s Supporting Communities Fund will go directly to more than 250 community ‘anchor’ groups, supporting families on lower incomes and older people access lifeline services to cope with the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
The community groups operate as ‘anchors’, bringing together charities, volunteers, social enterprises and the public sector to co-ordinate the local response and channel support where it is needed. This includes making hot meals, organising grocery and prescription deliveries and providing wellbeing support.
North Edinburgh Arts is a lead organisation in North Edinburgh’s Covid-19 Foodshare Group, which saw a range of local community organisations join together in March to support vulnerable people across Drylaw, Muirhouse, Pilton, Granton and Royston Wardieburn. The group will receive £96,370.
Since the group was established thousands of hot meals, packed lunches, sandwiches and essential supply packs have been distributed across the area in an operation which is now being introduced in other areas across the city.
The North Edinburgh group has been calling for resources to meet demand for some weeks and this morning’s announcement will enable the group to maintain and expand the vital service they provide.
North Edinburgh Arts chairperson Lesley Hinds said: “I am delighted with the award of funding from the Scottish Government’s Supporting Communities for Covid-19 work in North Edinburgh.
“Over the last several weeks community groups have come together, to deliver over 13,000 food packages weekly, culture packages and supporting vulnerable residents in North Edinburgh. As Chair of North Edinburgh Arts I am proud of the staff and volunteers who have played an important role in the work, as part of North Edinburgh Covid-19 Foodshare Group.”
While the North Edinburgh Arts-led application was the biggest of those allocated in the capital, there were successful applications by Edinburgh anchor organisations all across the city.
Cyrenians (£71,596), Edinburgh City Youth Cafe (£82,713), Edinburgh Community Food (£25,800), Edinburgh Community Health Forum (£56,693), Edinburgh Old Town Development Trust (£27,720) and Out of the Blue (£49,157) all receive funding to tackle the crisis caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
Communities Secretary Aileen Campbell said: “We know that community groups working in the heart of our communities and neighbourhoods have a wealth of experience in responding to challenges.
“We have seen this through many examples of the incredible response to COVID-19 in the past weeks that have made such a huge difference to so many people. This inspiring work that is already underway in our neighbourhoods is proving essential to our nation’s resilience.
“This funding will be a valuable lifeline for the range of innovative support available for people in our communities, and we are working fast to get that support to where it is needed most.”
The Supporting Communities Fund was announced on 18 March 2020 as part of a £350 million package to help those most affected by the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
Up to £10 million is being made available as an initial sum available to support community anchor organisations, and a further allocation of £10 million has been approved to support the second phase of the fund.