One year on: Grangemouth lunch club continues to provide vital social lifeline

Clare Murray came up with the Grangemouth Saturday Lunch Club initiative last November when she saw the impact the rising cost of food and heating bills was having on the community.

Thanks to the support of Christ the King Church, in Bowhouse Road, Grangemouth, the club got a free space to host it’s vital service every Saturday from noon until 2pm – and it is still going strong one year on.

Clare said: “The opportunity was there with that free space from the church so we decided to use it. There are now about 12 of us who volunteer there and help out. The club started off as a place where people who were struggling could come to get something to eat, but it is more of a social event now open to everyone in the community.”

When the club started Clare was adamant she did not want it to be seen as a soup kitchen for homeless people.

At the time she told The Falkirk Herald: “I don’t want people to feel they need to be destitute to turn up. It could be one less meal for a family to worry about or just be a

warm place that someone can come to and have a bit of banter."

The club does not just provide food and social interaction to those who may be otherwise isolated, it also gives youngsters a chance to volunteer and, for St Mungo’s High School S2 students lijke Lucy Murray and Callan Differ, allows them to achieve qualifications like the Ascent Level Saltire Award.

Grangemouth Saturday Lunch Club held a celebration earlier this month to mark its first year in operation.

"We had a buffet and some drinks,” said Clare. “Volunteers and friends and family came along and those people, including Bowhouse Community Association, who have supported us over the last year.”

A year ago the parish helped with the club’s set up costs and through Councillor David Balfour, Clare met with Falkirk Council to help with the necessary red tape.

She said she is grateful to everyone who has provided donations since then, either through making the food or giving cash.