Moray Food Plus has officially launched The Bosie, a family centre to better help locals who rely on the charity’s support.
As the name suggests, the aim of the centre is to welcome people who need support, whether it be with cooking, advice or simply an ear ready to listen.
Sharon Whiteley, a support worker at Moray Food Plus who will be running cooking classes at The Bosie, said she had “goosebumps” seeing the centre come to life.
“We called it The Bosie because that’s what we want it to be,” she said.
“It’s a welcome, it’s a hug, a warm and relaxed place where we can come together to create and do things.”
Adapting to rising costs
The Bosie sits on Elgin’s high street and is the creation of Mairi McCallum, a project manager at Moray Food Plus.
She said: “I’m just really excited to have people in and get it up and running.
“The timetable is really filling up, it feels like it’s a nice welcoming space for people to come into.”
Classes will centre around cooking, and Mrs McCallum said they will take into account the rising cost of living, helping families adapt to increasing bills: “When we do our cooking sessions we keep budget in mind.
“Because of the nature of the session, each is only 30 minutes, it’s quick-cook things which I think will really help families as well.”
She hopes The Bosie will keep evolving, enabling it to support an ever growing range of people.
Welcoming environment
Representatives from groups across the region who will benefit from the service went to get a first look on Wednesday as it officially opened its doors.
“Some of our trainees will be coming along for cooking classes,” said Shirley Nicoll, a project coordinator at Moray Reach Out.
“We’ve done them before through the foodbank and they were just excellent. We hope to empower our trainees, make them more independent so it’s great for them, it gives them those skills.”
The Bosie comprises of one main space plus a brand new kitchen, both of which are bright, spacious and decorated with pops of colour.
Kirsteen Carmichael is area public health coordinator at the NHS and a trained midwife.
She hopes the “warm, welcoming environment” will encourage young mums and new families to feel safe seeking support.
People from Sacro housing support unit and local schools are also among those who will be welcomed into The Bosie.
‘People need to talk’
Rising rent costs and difficulty finding spaces to meet its needs meant Moray Food Plus was looking to buy a permanent building for the new hub.
The move was made possible thanks to a grant from Glanfarclas Distillery, whose director Ishbel Grant attended the opening and branded the facility “fantastic”.
Sandra Kennedy, who will also be leading cooking classes at The Bosie, added: “I’m looking forward to getting a buzz in here, for people to feel welcome and come in for a bosie if they need it.
“To get that cooker on, to get people in chopping onions, it’s the basics but people need to talk.”
Big Food Appeal
Moray Food Plus revealed a steep rise in the number of people coming through the doors for help, with the number of people relying on its foodbank in June – 113% higher than the same month in 2021.
People across the north and north-east are being hit by rising energy, fuel and food costs, with many struggling to make ends meet.
The Press and Journal and Evening Express created the Big Food Appeal to raise awareness of the help available across the Highlands, Islands, Aberdeen and Moray.
For more information, or to get involved with The Big Food Appeal, click here.
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