THIS time of Covid-19 has seen the community of Lochgelly come together with a common purpose.

The Lo’gelly Lunches project has adapted to meet the needs of people locally. Normally a community lunch club offering support and companionship to people on a Friday the group has become a focal point of food resilience within the town.

The development of the Community Larder facility at the Town Hall, has been possible by an award to purchase a fridge and freezer from The Community Response, Recovery and Resilience Fund as part of Foundation Scotland.

Chairperson, Helen Ross, said: "This award is really gratefully received, our group have tried to keep on working throughout this time to keep our community fed.

"The purchase of the fridge and freezer will enable us to store food in a safe and controlled environment. We are so grateful to Foundation Scotland for this award".

The Community Larder takes place in Lochgelly Town Hall every Friday between 11am-1am and is open to anyone to go along and pick up some food essentials.

The project have also been supported by a grant from the Coalfields Regeneration Trust. The Lo’gelly Lunches wanted to try and bring the community together… in some way and decided to host an afternoon tea on Saturday May 31.

Part of the funding from CRT allowed for the purchase of bags that included cake and cookie mix as well as come sweet and savoury items for people to prepare and enjoy an afternoon tea.

The group also have plans for a small growing project and some activities for the summer.

Local Community Education Worker, Lorraine Mullen, said, being able to bring people together in a shared experience was key to helping support peoples mental health and wellbeing at this time.

" Feeling connected to each other is a human trait and the afternoon tea certainly created a bit of a buzz in the town.

"It was great to see people’s photos online making the experience a truly shared one".

The local NISA shop, in Main Street, have made a very generous donation through the NISA – Making a difference locally programme.

Lo’gelly Lunches member, Cathy Simpson, met with Umar from the store recently and said of the donation: “It’s a very good and busy shop and people rely on it locally.

"It’s such a pleasant shop and the guys are very kind to their customers and the wider community. We can’t thank them enough for their generosity; its so appreciated and will go directly to supporting the people who need it most in our town".

The Lo’gelly lunches would also like to pay tribute to Lo’gelly’s Lucky Larder for their support during this crisis!

Started through local ladies, Tammi Ford and Michelle Mackie, they have been running a series of raffles online and to date have contributed £1,500 to the work of Lo’gelly Lunches.

Quite simply the hot meals and the packed lunches would not be able to happen without the generosity of Tammi and Michelle or indeed the people who take part in the raffles. It’s such a tremendous community effort that shows just what people can do locally when a huge effort is needed. They have risen to the needs of their community and Lo’gelly Lunches cannot thank or commend them high enough!

The Lo’gelly Lunches project support the weekly Community Larder on a Friday from 11am-1pm as well as offering a packed lunch on a Wednesday between 12pm-1pm and the Hot Hatch meal delivery on a Monday between 4.30-6pm.

If you would like to find out more information about the work that the Lo’gelly Lunches have been undertaking or how to access this project or indeed community work in the area then don’t hesitate to get in touch with Lorraine Mullen, at Lochgelly Centre, Bank St. Lochgelly 03451 555555 – 406807 or drop an email to Lorraine.mullen@fife.gov.uk