WE are aiming to spread Christmas cheer across East Renfrewshire and Renfrewshire through our vital Bank on Us campaign.

For this, we are encouraging our readers to get involved in a food drive and have partnered with food banks to help ensure no-one goes hungry during the colder weather.

By speaking to food bank volunteers on the front lines of the cost-of-living crisis we hope to share why donations are so important.

Paper bags will be inserted into every copy of the Barrhead News and our sister title the Gazette on Wednesday, November 27.

Readers who are able to donate are being asked to fill the bags with food items and hand them into their local food bank.

One of the vital supports we have partnered with is a service in the heart of a Barrhead community.

When Dunterlie Foodshare started up as a pilot project in 2019, its founder Rena McGuire BEM did not envision that it would still be running five and a half years later.

Unfortunately, however, while demand has ebbed and flowed over this time, she cannot see the need for it to end.

At the moment, the foodshare is seeing a steady stream of 22 people coming through its doors at the Dunterlie Resource Centre on Stewart Street every week to make use of the service.

Those who come along receive a free shopping bag with items such as milk, tinned soup and pasta and a free bag containing fresh fruit and vegetables.

Rena told the Barrhead News: “We get a mix of all sorts of people, families, single people.

“Sometimes we have people who have just got out the hospital.

“We also get referrals from the homeless. We help them as well. Especially if they are moving someone into a property and they just don’t have any money.

“If we give out bags to 22 people that could be 30, 35, 40 people being fed when you take into account the other people in the household.”

(Image: Newsquest)

While it is unfortunate that the need continues, it is at least heartening for Rena and those who volunteer to know they are making a big difference.

“One day a social worker turned up with two bags of shopping that came from a lady we had helped earlier,” she explained.

“It’s really nice to know someone has appreciated what they received when they needed it.”

The foodshare currently operates on Fridays from 11am to 12pm and is open to Barrhead residents with a G78 postcode.

“I used to be the chair of the women’s centre as well and we always did stuff on a Friday because people were going into isolation (over the weekend) especially the elderly,” explained Rena.

“For me doing (the foodshare) on a Friday is the best day because of this and because people might not receive any money until a Monday.

“I’ve always looked at that side of it.

“I was brought up in Dunterlie and I’ve lived here all my life, so I understand what goes on round about me.”

The foodshare receives plenty of food and vegetables, so is not looking for any donations of these items. 

They would, however, welcome items for their shopping bags, such as tins of soup, beans, spaghetti, rice, long life milk, tea, coffee, cereals, pasta and tinned vegetables, as well as eggs with a good date.

“The amount of food we get in on a weekly basis can be quite poor some weeks, so we have got to make sure we have enough to top up the bags when it’s a poor week,” added Rena.

“We try to have a lot of tins and sauces because they are good over the winter.”

As well as the food drive, we will be raising money for our Bank on Us toy drive via GoFundMe.

The campaign hopes to deliver thousands of gifts to our most vulnerable children this Christmas.

We are hoping our readers, nurseries, schools, and businesses get behind the campaign by donating.

All proceeds will be used to purchase toys which will be distributed to charities to be handed out to parents and put under the tree.

Stacey Mullen, editor of the Barrhead News, said: "Times are tough, families are facing so much hardship amid the cost of living crisis, and if we can all take a moment to spare a thought for them and give something back, no matter how small, it will make a huge difference.

“The greatest thing about editing this newspaper is knowing that our readers all look out for each other and doing this campaign will no doubt prove that.

“So thank you from the bottom of our hearts for helping us with Bank on Us.”

You can donate towards our toy bank by clicking HERE. 

The Bank on Us 2024 campaign is proudly sponsored by Allied Vehicles, Arnold Clark, Smyths Toys Superstores, SPAR Scotland, Stagecoach, StepChange, Storage Vault and Wise Group.

We will be speaking with our sponsors over the coming weeks, as well as other food banks.