Ormlie group gets some festive cheer from Tesco
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A CAITHNESS community group has benefited from some seasonal cheer delivered by a local supermarket.
The Ormlie Community Association, which has been supporting parents, children and elderly members through activities and group gatherings since it opened 23 years ago, has received surplus food from Tesco.
The group provides a number of activities, including computer access programmes, mums' groups and crèche and activities for youngsters.
However, due to the challenges faced by the coronavirus lockdown, it had to close earlier this year, reopening in October with new measures in place such as social distancing and limited numbers for groups.
The association also began to provide food from Tesco’s Community Food Connection programme, run in partnership with food charity FareShare, to families in need and elderly residents who have been isolating at home.
Gilly Munro, the group's business support manager, said: "We receive food every week thanks to these donations which are hugely important for the people who need our support.
"This year has been especially tough for residents across Thurso so we are committed to ensuring we are in a position to provide whatever food and support we can to the people who count."
Tony McElroy, head of communications for Tesco in Scotland, said: "Community Food Connection is making a real difference to groups like the Ormlie Community Association but we know there are more groups that could receive food from the scheme.
"This is the biggest supermarket food redistribution scheme in the UK and I’d encourage any group looking to use food in their work to discover how they could benefit."
The project provides around 350,000 meals from surplus food to charities and community groups each week. So far, more than 40 million meals have been donated to good causes across the country through the scheme.
If you are a charity or community group that could benefit from the initiative then visit www.fareshare.org.uk/fareshare-go to find out more.
