A group of teenagers are turning foodbank donations into tasty treats – and learning valuable life skills in the process.
Cromarty Youth Cafe is open twice a week, staffed by voluntary youth leaders eager to help their local community.
The teens use donations from Cfine to create tasty treats for those attending the cafe, and also make up food parcels for those in need.
Some of the volunteers are so dedicated they have clocked up more than 500 hours of service at the cafe in Victoria Hall, tending to around 20 to 30 youngsters each week.
Orlagh MacIver is one of the volunteers, and said she enjoys being able to help feed the young people who come to the cafe.
The 14-year-old said: “We use every single last bit of the order we get from Cfine at the cafe and in the food bags.
“It helps us tackles things in the local community like food poverty, so people who aren’t as lucky when it comes to having enough food so it’s a great help to those who need it.”
More than just a foodbank
The cafe is just one of the ways charities like Cfine can support communities, proving they are more than a traditional foodbank.
Donations – like the ones being made through the Press and Journal’s Big Christmas Food Appeal – can be used for breakfast or lunch clubs, which assist with social isolation as well.
Orlagh admitted her experience at Cromarty Youth Cafe has boosted her confidence, and that she enjoys being able to help others in need.
Through the initiative, many of the youth leaders have been able to work towards qualifications like their Level 1 food safety.
Orlagh said: “My confidence has risen since I started at the youth café, we’ve learned how to deal with different children’s needs, how to cater to them.
“Several children have allergies, so we have learned to be careful around preparing and sorting food we get in.”
Getting creative
With a wide array of ingredients arriving from Cfine – which works with various hauliers to get food across the Highlands, Moray and Aberdeenshire – the youth leaders have to get creative with what they make.
While one month’s deliveries might be dried noodles and vegetables, another might be cheese, bread and pasta.
Some of the creations have included beetroot and chocolate muffins, and lentil pasta with their own homemade sauce.
Fraser Thomson, an assistant youth worker, praised the efforts of the youth cafe team.
“I don’t know how we managed before without Cfine, and they have certainly helped us with our costs, so we can engage with more people out in the community, not just young people but everyone.”
Understanding cost-of-living
As well as the creations they make for youth cafe visitors, the teens make up food parcels to distribute among Black Isle communities.
Not only is this giving vital aid to those in need, it’s also providing a bit of company on the doorstep.
Hayden Nicholson, 15, believes volunteering has taught him about respect and dealing with the cost of living crisis.
He said: “There’s a lot of people that I’ve seen that are struggling, so at the youth cafe, it’s nice to put on a spread and see kids enjoy themselves and get a proper meal.
“The locals feel included and they are always delighted to see when we drop the bags off because a lot of them are quite lonely, so we could go to a door and be there for 10 minutes talking to them.”
‘Achieving things for themselves’
Youth development officer Wanda Mackay, who runs the scheme, said it is important for kids to recognise what they can do to help in their community.
“Having the youth cafe gets young people off the streets and they are safe, healthy and are able to work towards and achieve things for themselves.
“Some of the leaders are doing the Saltire Award and have upwards of 500 hours of volunteering.
“We have done a lot of work with the youth leaders, including intergenerational work and work around improving the quality of life for older people and the knock-on effect is that they are gaining skills for life.
“Throughout Covid, we were told too often by young people that they were lonely and felt isolated.
“We find that having food for free all year round has a positive effect on young people and so the Cfine order that we get helps towards that.
“The young people are then learning to cook and bake, live on a budget and to get creative when it comes to how they use food to help themselves and others.”
Earlier this week, the youth leaders held a Christmas party for those who use the cafe – using money they successfully applied for from Youth Scotland.
The £850 was split between the party and adding some little luxuries as a Christmas treat to the food parcels.
The P&J’s Big Christmas Food Appeal is highlighting the work our communities are doing to tackle food poverty this winter, while also trying to debunk the myths around who can get help – and where it’s available.
We’re collecting donations for Cfine through a JustGiving page, an Amazon shopping list – and at food drop-off points including The P&J office at Stoneyfield Business Park, Inverness.
Conversation