National Lottery funding for Cyrenians

Cyrenians, the Edinburgh-based homelessness charity will share in a large funding round from the National Lottery.

The charity produces fresh, healthy ready meals to distribute to those who are at risk of poverty and isolation.

The Real Farming Trust announced today that it has received more than £900,000 in National Lottery funding to bring together four established local community food projects in four cities including Edinburgh, to improve the quality of ready meals eaten by vulnerable groups at risk of food poverty.

The charities will be supported by Can Cook who will provide mentoring support to the programme. Coventry University’s Centre for Agroecology, Water and Resilience (CAWR) will work with the partners, helping them to measure and report on their impact.

The groups have already engaged hundreds of volunteers, including furloughed chefs and delivery drivers, to make and deliver thousands of healthy meals during the Covid emergency. The projects understand their communities and have adapted quickly to reach those most in need.

Jade Bashford, Programme Manager at the Real Farming Trust said:”This project will focus on improving the diets of those people at greatest risk of food poverty, working with experienced groups to innovate and share good practice. A grant from the Community Fund has made this work possible.’’

National Lottery players raise £30 million every week, and £41 billion has been raised for over 565,000 good causes in the UK since 1994. The lottery money is critical to supporting people, projects and communities.