Edinburgh charity tackling homelessness joins project funded by the National Lottery

An Edinburgh charity dedicated to supporting the homeless has joined a project run by the Real Farming Trust to improve the quality of food eaten by vulnerable groups.

Cyrenians Flavour and Haver Community Cook School Manager Sue O’Neill Berest.

The Real Farming Trust announced last week that it has received more than £900,000 in National Lottery funding to bring together four established local community food projects

with the aim of improving the quality of ready meals eaten by vulnerable groups at risk of food poverty.

The four groups that have joined forces for the Ready Health Eat project are based in Edinburgh, Brighton, London and Belfast.

Cyrenians Flavour and Haver Community Cook School Manager Sue O’Neill Berest with another volunteer.

The funding will help Cyrenians charity in Edinburgh to work with communities across the city to produce fresh, healthy ready meals to distribute to those at high risk of isolation an

poverty.

Cyrenians Flavour and Haver Community Cook School Manager Sue O’Neill Berest said: “Right at the beginning of the pandemic we knew that even more people in and around

Edinburgh would require our support accessing high quality food; from those self-isolating to those impacted negatively through the various lockdown restrictions.

Volunteers at Cyrenians.

“We are delighted to be working with the Real Farming Trust to continue offering this vital life-line, producing nutritious and delicious, freezer-friendly ready meals for those who are

experiencing food poverty, with the additional benefit of providing 12 local individuals over the next year robust training paid at the living wage.

“It is our belief that everyone deserves to have access to high quality food, regardless of their circumstances. This funding will enable us to provide additional support to our local

community, and continue tackling food inequality across Edinburgh and the Lothians.”

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