A hot value meal and precious company from Kirkcaldy church needs more volunteers

Run by around 20 volunteers and three permanent members of staff, Pathhead Parish Church’s community outreach programme provides cheap, high quality meals to members of the local community in Kirkcaldy East, Dysart, Overton Mains, Pathhead and Sinclair Town.

It runs out of the church on Harriet Street and delivers meals five days a week, Monday to Friday. It caters for people in the area who sign up, whether they are members of the church or not.

The subsidised hot main courses cost just £4.00, with a £1.00 delivery charge. There is also soup and sweets available for £1.80 and sandwiches for £2.20.

However, the program is now calling for new volunteers as it seeks holiday cover - with many of its volunteers heading off on well-earned breaks.

The service was first started in the 1980s by a college lecturer who wanted to create opportunities for real world work experience for students.

But now, it caters to a range of needs of those using the service, sometimes beyond food with the service becoming a daily touch point throughout the years.

Dave Duncan has been volunteering for 14 years since retiring.

Along with his wife, Elizabeth, he delivers meals and, as a former mechanic, is in charge of making sure the programme’s car is up and running. He said that volunteers are able to get to know their clients personally.

Dave said: “I’ve been doing it for 14 years and I thoroughly enjoy it. We are out meeting people and we get to know all our clients personally.

“So when we’re at the door if there’s something untoward we know and we can phone back to the office”.

And knowing their clients' habits can be a lifesaver for some.

Volunteer Gordon Suttie described the time he had to help an elderly client after a fall.

He said: “We saved one of our clients who had fallen into her wardrobe and couldn’t get up. She was there for quite a long time before we came along.”

Gordon has volunteered with the programme for the last eight years and has become a key member of the team with Denise Nicholson, outreach coordinator, saying “you name it, Gordon does it – if he’s not painting he’s delivering meals, if he’s not delivering meals, he’s recycling our cardboard.”

According to Denise, long-term relationships between those running the programme and the clients are important to its success.

She explained: “They do become your friends, because they phone you up and they know your voice right away.

“I’ve been here for 11 years and some of them have been here for longer than that. Sometimes I sit in the office and I put the phone on loudspeaker and speak to them while I’m doing something.

“There used to be one client who would phone me every Wednesday, because I used to work late, and she would be on the phone the whole time talking to me.”

Linda Evans delivers with her husband Fred. She has been a volunteer for the last 10 years and has worked in the cafe as well as taking food to local residents. She reiterated what many had already said about the service.

She said: “I enjoy it. I wouldn’t do it if I didn’t enjoy it. It’s about more than delivering meals – you might be the only face they see all day.

“People always thank you and they’re really appreciative. We don’t have a single bad customer”.

Along with increasing volunteer numbers, the programme is keen to increase the number of people receiving meals. They recently undertook a leaflet drop to attempt to boost numbers, but found it difficult to attract new clients.

Gordon said: “We thought demand would be higher, but it wasn’t. Most of the people we deliver to are single people. There's only one couple. It’s mainly retired and elderly people”.

According to Denise, the programme will continue but must "take on a fresh outlook” on how it attracts new clients. However, her enthusiasm for providing the service is clear.

Denise said: “We only close at Christmas and New Year and if I had it my way, we’d be open then as well!”

You do not need to be a member of the church to volunteer or to receive meals, with people from all backgrounds welcome to contact the church for more information.

You can contact the Pathhead Church Office on 01592 204635 or alternatively email them at [email protected].