ORGANISERS behind a city centre soup kitchen have told how its weekly facility has “reached capacity” as volunteers are “scraping the pots”.
Homeless Project Scotland is bidding to meet the demands for its service as bosses are planning to feed an additional 500 people across Glasgow.
Chairman Colin McInness is hoping to raise £50,000 to create a mobile food truck that would take emergency provisions straight to the doorsteps of those in need.
READ MORE: Glasgow soup kitchen provides baby supplies to those at 'crisis' point
He said: “We want to buy a food truck to drive around different areas of Glasgow, particularly the areas where there are hostels and temporary accommodation facilities.
“We’d have it run through different locations at set times and on different days throughout the week -making it a service that people can really rely on to be there.
“The truck would take provision to those who would not be able to reach it otherwise. Too often we are seeing people struggle to reach our soup kitchen in the city centre because of how far away it is for them.
“With a mobile service, we could take hot food, essential aid and toiletries to people who need it, instead of them having to come to us”.
READ MORE: Glasgow homeless found 'trembling and shaking' on streets during Storm Darcy
The charity runs its soup kitchen every Friday evening from underneath the Heilanman’s Umbrella.
On average, it will feed between 200 and 250 people every week.
Colin added: “Every Friday night, we serve 340 litres of food out to those in need. Every time, we reach complete capacity – we are literally scraping the pots.
“We have regulars that come every week and we have familiar faces that come in once every wee while. Then, we have people that come once and once only.”
Colin has described the need for a mobile service in the city as “crucial” as he listed a “multitude of reasons” as to why people cannot access his Argyle Street facility.
He said: “There is a need for this type of service in the city because sadly, there are people who can’t travel into the city centre to access the emergency facilities that are available.
“There are also people who won’t be able to come to our soup kitchen because they might have drug debts or there might be people in the queue that they can’t because they have bail conditions.
“A lot of children have also stopped coming. They have told us it’s because they have been spotted by social work and that it frightens them because they don’t want to be split up from their families.
“There is a multitude of things that could stop people form coming to our facility – some things that they can’t even speak about."
Once the food truck is up and running, the charity has plans to visit areas including Ibrox, Trongate, Great Western Road and Easterhouse among many more.
“Why should someone walk all the way from Ibrox to get hot food when we could bring it to them? Some people simply can’t come into the city because of how much it would cost them on transport.
"It makes sense to have something outwith the city centre that people can rely on if they are in an emergency", Colin said.
More than £15,000 has already been donated to the charity’s online fundraiser with volunteers planning upcoming events to meet the £50,000 target.
Colin added: “We can’t stand back and do nothing, knowing that this is going on right on our doorstep.
“As a result, a group of us got together with more joining every day, to walk the West Highland Way and raise as much as possible for this truck.
"Lockdown willing, we are planning on doing the walk over several days in April. It will be socially distanced, compliant with all regulations and hopefully by the end of it we will have hit our group target of £50,000."
And, the charity is asking local businesses to get involved too.
"We’re asking for the cash to buy the van and revamp it with a kitchen so as it can supply the food and emergency aid.
"We’ve had generous donations from many local businesses so far. We’re looking for others to come forward to donate and unite against homelessness and poverty in Glasgow."
In December, we told how Homeless Project Scotland was providing baby supplies to those at "crisis point" in Glasgow from their premises underneath Heilanman's Umbrella.
To donate towards the food truck, visit HERE.
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