Cost of living crisis: More Fife venues open doors and serve hot meals

Lochgelly Town Hall is set to host ‘Lochgelly Lunches’ on a weekly basis, while a Fife hotel is offering local OAPs £1 lunches throughout this month.

The moves come as businesses and community groups mobilise to keep people through the winter months as energy bills and food prices continue to spiral.

Lochgelly lunches will be open to all every Tuesday at the local Town Hall for hot drinks and light food between 11:00am and 1:00pm.

Pupils from Lochgelly West School have teamed up with the volunteers to assist in serving the food and to participate in boards games.

Local councillor, Linda Erskine, said: “We know people are struggling with rising costs and that is why as well as providing food packs, we are also make tea and food and offering a place for people to come and stay warm whilst meeting others socially.”

Fife MSP Alex Rowley visited the project to thank the many volunteers for all the work they do. He also met with the pupils who told him their aim was to be involved in their local community and support others.

Mr Rowley said; “In every community we are seeing more and more people come together to support community drop in facilities to make sure no one goes cold and hungry this winter and the organisers stress everyone is welcome.

“Social isolation is very real but these volunteers want to make people welcome with the message don’t sit at home alone, pop in, meet people and get involved. The involvement of the local school is the icing on the cake and I want to thank the school and all the people giving up their time.”

In Markinch, the owners of the Laurel Bank Hotel have launched £1 lunches for pensioners hit by the cost of living crisis.

OAPs will be able to enjoy a bowl of soup and a roll during the week throughout November as the business offers support to people struggling with rising food prices.

Lee Murray, managing director, said: “With many of our older customers facing the prospect of having to make the decision of eating or switching on the heating, we thought, why not come to the Laurel Bank where the heating is always on and enjoy a hearty bowl of homemade soup and a bit of company?”

The offer is also the business’ way of saying thank you to the community for its support.

Mr Murray explained: “We are so grateful for the fantastic support we have received since we took over the hotel in February 2020, just a few weeks before the first lockdown, which could have decimated our business before we even got going.”

“Since then, we have been working hard to upgrade the facilities, build our team and improve every aspect of our service by re-investing wherever we can, but this would not have been possible without our customers.”