£40k for zero waste food pantry

A COMMUNITY shop which offers Inverclyde residents high-quality food at low cost has been served £40,000 from the council to continue its work.

Members of Inverclyde Council’s policy and resources committee unanimously agreed to provide the five-figure financial package to the Zero Waste Pantry in Grieve Road, Greenock.

The contribution, from the local authority’s anti-poverty fund, will support the pantry through until 2026.

It takes the council’s direct support for the community shop to more than £130k since it launched in December 2020.

The council helped set up the Grieve Road pantry – the first of its kind outside of Glasgow at the time – and a second Inverclyde pantry opened in John Wood Street in Port Glasgow Town Centre in July 2022, which is also supported by the council and largely funded through external lottery grants. 

The shops save perfectly good food from going to waste by selling it at low cost directly to Inverclyde residents through a membership scheme.

Both have grown in popularity since they opened with 1,221 members of Grieve Road pantry and 885 at John Wood Street.

Councillor Natasha McGuire, depute leader of Inverclyde Council and convener of the policy and resources committee, said: “Both pantries have become valued within their respective communities but also by people from across Inverclyde who use them.

“While The Trust has managed to secure external funding for the Port Glasgow pantry, which is great, the same funding hasn't been available for the Grieve Road pantry.

Grieve Road Pantry two-year anniversary
Councillor Natasha McGuire pictured with staff and volunteers at the Grieve Road Pantry celebrating its second anniversary in 2022.

“The Grieve Road pantry has been a lynchpin in the community and wider area since it opened and that’s why we have stepped in to provide the necessary funding to ensure the pantry can continue serving people from across Inverclyde while other funding avenues are explored to make it sustainable in the future. 

“This funding specifically for our first pantry and a review into the food provision across the area shows the council’s commitment to residents having access to affordable, quality food.”

In addition to direct grant funding for the pantries, the council also covers the cost of the membership to the organisation which sources and supplies food to them.

The pantries are run by Inverclyde Community Development Trust (The Trust).

They operate a membership scheme which costs an initial £1 and then £2.50 for a weekly shop with members receiving £10-£15 worth of groceries.

Each pantry stocks a range of fresh, frozen, tinned, and long-life produce which varies from week to week to provide members with variety.

The shops also signpost people to support services and there are monthly Financial Fitness drop-in sessions.

The policy and resources committee report is available on the council website and the meeting is available to watch on the Inverclyde Council YouTube channel or via the links in the Related Links and Other Websites sections of this page.