A TEAM of volunteers who have been giving up their time to provide food for people during the coronavirus lockdown cooked meal number 10,000 from its Tranent base this week.

Fa’side Emergency Food Provision, which is based at St Martin’s Church Hall, has been serving up meals to hundreds of households in the Fa’side area since the pandemic started.

Last Wednesday, volunteers Duncan McBride and Joyce and Andy Thomson dished up their 10,000th meal at the town’s East Lothian Co-operative Bowling Club, where they have been cooking five days a week and playing a central role in ensuring residents who have been shielding receive a hot meal.

The trio of volunteers got involved after a call from Tranent and Elphinstone Community Council for local people to volunteer their skills and experience.

The need for hot meals to be prepared and delivered was identified and Duncan got his long-time friends Andy and Joyce Thomson involved, with Joyce, who works at the club, approaching bowling club secretary Greg McGinn about using the premises.

Greg said: “As a club we are very much involved in the community and we were only happy to help. Thanks to the resilience team, community council and everyone who donated supplies and donations. However, the real heroes are Duncan, Joyce and Andy.”

What started out as a request to batch cook food, especially for the older residents a couple of days per week, turned into a full-time job for all three volunteers, who produced about 140 meals a day.

They have each clocked up 360 volunteer hours since they started.

Ruth Davie, from Fundamental Foods, which set up the emergency food provision, said: “We are grateful for the support of the Store Club and their premises and we cannot thank our dream batch cooking trio enough for all their hard work, especially their passion to make us delicious hot meals for those who need it most – it has brightened up a very difficult time for many local residents who have been receiving daily food parcels.

“Feedback from one elderly recipient said: ‘Someone cares about me and this is the highlight of my day when the lovely man drops off my food parcel.’

“With support from Fa’side Area Partnership, who provided Fundamental Foods with the start-up money to get the provision up and running, along with ongoing support through East Lothian Council and a range of partners, including regular and much-appreciated kind donations from local residents, we have managed to keep the hot meal element of the provision.

“None of this would have been possible without the time, effort, commitment, and passion that Duncan, Andy and Joyce have shown.”

The team extended its provision to Blair Hall to increase capacity to meet demand and thanked St Martin’s Parish and Blair Hall LOL228 for their support.