Community

COMMUNITY Big Blue Mobile Pantry

The Big Blue Mobile Pantry has been travelling around the rural communities of Moray since the 11th April and I think it is fair to say it has been a resounding success.

The bus has 28 stops throughout Moray and visits each place on a fortnightly basis.

In only one month there have been 380 visits to the pantry and 1.5 tons of groceries have been delivered to rural communities. on a Tuesday from 12 – 6pm and in Forres Town Hall every Saturday 10am -12 noon

These projects are all in association with Moray Food Plus. The Big Blue Pantry was funded by the Robertson Trust and The Big Lottery Improving Lives Fund. The Keith Pantry was funded by Edintore Community Wind farm and the Forres Pantry by Berry Burn Community Fund. The bus was able to be purchased and refurbished thanks to a donation from William Grant and Sons.

The pantry is open to everyone. When you first visit, you are asked to become a member and that membership is free. Each time you visit you pay £2-50 which allows you up to ten items from a selection of products which are colour coded, Proteins, Dairy, Pasta Grains and Bread, Fruit and Veg and Miscellaneous. The chart on the wall indicates how many of each category is available on that visit. This changes according to the volume of stock in the pantry daily. The pantries are all helping reduce food waste as the supplies mainly come from recovered surplus foods from suppliers such as Tesco, Co-op, Marks & Spencer, Baxters, FareShare and some local producers. As you will see on the side of the bus ‘Keeping quality surplus food in the food chain’ so by utilising the pantry you are helping reduce food waste in Moray.

Big Blue is also offering outreach activities in the areas they operate. They have carried out outdoor learning and bushcraft with primary schools, gentle exercise and pancake making with Moray BALL groups, wellbeing walks and family outdoor sessions.

Two new pantries have also been opened in the Loft Youth Project in Keith and Forres Area Community Trust who are operating in Keith The areas that are visited will be reviewed after three months, but with 300 members so far on the mobile pantry alone, I think it is definitely delivering a much appreciated service.