Lottery lifeline to keep Food Train Glasgow running

The charity Food Train Glasgow has been saved from immediate closure after controversially losing it’s council funding at the start of the year.

A £75,000 grant from the National Lottery Community Fund will provide financial breathing space while the organisation searches for long-term backing.

The funding will secure Food Train Glasgow’s shopping and delivery services for 400 people aged 65 and over for the next 12 months.

In the past 10 years, Govanhill-based Food Train Glasgow has made more than 67,000 grocery deliveries.

Funding axe

The branch’s future was plunged into crisis after Glasgow City Council, which had funded the bulk of the charity’s operations since it launched locally a decade ago, rejected its latest three-year funding application in January.

City residents and organisations rallied to raise thousands of pounds via a Crowdfunding campaign which kept operations going after its local authority funding ended in March.

Food Train has written to its members, sharing the news - with many of them sharing their reaction with members as their shopping has been delivered.

Relief for volunteers

Douglas McCallister, a volunteer with the charity for the past two years, said: “The reaction we’ve had at every home has been one of relief.

“Without Food Train, many of our members didn’t know how they were going to get their shopping and look after themselves. The immediate threat we faced was causing real stress and anxiety.

“The older people we support are often housebound, isolated and overlooked by others. For some, we’re the only people they get to speak to for days on end.

Removing all that we do would have had a real negative impact on their health, in so many ways.”

"Amazing support"

Chief executive Michelle Carruthers said: “We are delighted and relieved to have secured this amazing support from The National Lottery Community Fund.

This will reduce the risk of our older members in Glasgow from becoming lonelier, malnourished and seriously ill over the coming year.

“The effects on the wellbeing of our members has been a big worry for our team, and particularly worrying for our fantastic volunteers who are like extended family to many of our members.

Kate Still, Scotland Chair of the National Lottery Community Fund, said: “National Lottery funding can make amazing things happen in local communities across the country.

Food Train Glasgow, is a great example of community activity in action, showing just what can be achieved when people come together for a common cause or to help others.

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