Community Larders offer the opportunity to charities and community groups to address food poverty while tackling food waste and fighting isolation.
Community larders are a tried and tested way of reducing the environmental impact of food waste, preventing fresh food from ending up in a landfill. Anyone can share or take food, including surplus from supermarkets, local food businesses, producers, households, and gardens.
They also address food poverty in a dignified way: they are open to everyone without requiring a referral system, allow people to choose the items they would like to take home, and provide a long-term sustainable approach to food insecurity.
And finally, they can also provide a space for people to meet up, learn new skills such as how to grow or cook food and overcome additional barriers people face, such as reducing social isolation.
There should be no shame or guilt in accessing donated food: if everyone uses a community larder, everyone feels comfortable using it. Often people do not access larders because they feel they do not qualify, or they need permission. A community larder operating within the community offers a mechanism for people to access food no matter what their circumstances are, and to overcome food inequalities while promoting dignity.
In the county of Sutherland, where 100 percent of the population live in areas classed as ‘very remote rural’, there are several community larders operating effectively.
Ardgay: Kyle of Sutherland Development Trust’s Community Larder
Drovers Square, Ardgay IV24 3AL (red roofed building)
The larder stocks a range of food, including fresh veg and frozen food, and toiletries. Everyone in the community is welcomed to it. Opening times are Tuesday (10 to 2pm) and Friday (10 to 2pm and 4 to 6pm). People are also welcome to stay for a blether around tea, coffee and biscuits.
Bonar Bridge: Bradbury Centre’s Larder
Cherry Grove, Bonar Bridge, IV24 3ER
Situated in a large cupboard on the deck of the Bradbury Centre’s building, it’s always open and everyone is welcome to help themselves to what they need at any time.
Brora: Brora Village Hub Community Larder
Muirfield Road, Brora KW9 6QL
In the wooden “Food Share Shed” outside Brora Village Hub. Sharing surplus, still fresh food via their community fridge. The larder is open 8am to 8pm 7 days a week.
Culrain: Culrain Community Larder
Culrain, Ardgay IV24 3DW
Temporarily situated in a green portacabin next to Culrain Hall. The larder is open every Tuesday (2-3pm) Everyone is welcome to use it.
Dornoch: The Hut Foodshare Larder
1 Argyll St, Dornoch IV25 3LA
Pop-up food-share stall with surplus food donated by supermarkets and local shops, open twice a week: Tuesdays and Thursdays 10am-12noon. There’s a box outside open 24h for those who can’t make those times.
Golspie: Sutherland Care Forum Food Waste Initiative
Sutherland Care Forum office, Craig House, Main Street, Golspie KW10 6TG
SCF offers food collected from the local Co-op on reaching their ‘display until’ or ‘best before’ date and makes it available free of charge to anyone who comes to collect it from the SCF office. There is also a wooden box at the rear of the Police Station, the Golspie food pantry, that can be accessed at any time.
Lairg: Lairg Food Larder
Off Main Street Lairg IV27 4AR
At the moment, due to the portacabin being near the construction site of the Lairg Community Housing Project, there is no physical larder in operation, but there is a small larder at Lairg & District Learning Centre (open during opening times) and Lairg & District Community Initiative also operates a food drop offs in the Lairg area – for more information, please contact projectofficer@lairginitiative.co.uk.
For advice on how to set up a community larder, please contact Sutherland Community Partnership (help and planning), and cfine.org & fareshare.org.uk (access to surplus food).
