'Shameful': Appeal after Edinburgh food charity’s delivery van with strawberry logo is stolen in Leith

Staff at an Edinburgh food charity have been left “disappointed” after one of their distinctive delivery vans was stolen in the Leith area of the city.

The white Ford Transit van, one of two main delivery vehicles belonging to social enterprise Edinburgh Community Food, was taken some time between 1.30pm on Monday and 6am on Tuesday, when it was parked on Tennant Street.

The van, registration number SH12 XVO, has a large strawberry logo on the sides and rear with the words ‘edinburgh community food’ clearly written on it.

Police described the act as “shameful” and have appealed to members of the public to help them track down the stolen vehicle.

This is not a picture of the stolen van but has been provided by police to show what the logo looks like.

Brenda Black, the charity’s chief executive officer, expects the cost of buying a replacement electric van just now could reach up to £30,000, and she called on the culprits to “do the right thing” by returning the vehicle as they need it to deliver fresh fruit and vegetables to people experiencing food insecurity or crisis.

Ms Black said: “Please think about others and just consider that food is a basic human need and human right. Think about what food means to you and your family.

“It’s just really sad and disappointing that this has happened, that’s the bottom line. We have been doing community work in Edinburgh for 25 years and our strawberry logo is a well known logo around the city.”

Ms Black said that their charity delivered just under one million meals to 200,000 people across Edinburgh during the pandemic and that, in the past week alone, they supplied food to nearly 400 families involved in Edinburgh City Council’s Discover programme.

Edinburgh Community Food’s mission is to help people enjoy fresh, healthy food and making sure everyone in the city has access to an affordable healthy diet.

The charity uses the vans to source food from local farms and delivers it to homes and businesses across the city, and they also run stalls in Edinburgh’s hospitals selling produce to staff, visitors and patients. All of their profits go back into their charitable work. They also promote cooking and nutrition courses and deliver health information presentations.

Sergeant Elaine McArthur Kerr, of Leith police station, said: “Edinburgh Community Food relies on its vans to deliver to people and businesses in the city and this theft is a shameful act given that it obviously belongs to a charity.

“Edinburgh Community Food delivers fresh fruit and vegetables to people on low incomes and sells it to staff, patients and visitors in city hospitals. This theft has left them seriously inconvenienced and having to hire a replacement.

“Our enquiries are ongoing to trace the van and we are appealing to anyone who may have seen it since it went missing to get in touch. If you can assist please contact us on 101, quoting incident 0689 of Tuesday, 8 August, 2021, or make a call anonymously to the charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.”

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