Category

• Promising Local Practice

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Poverty impact

• Prevention
• Reduction
• Awareness

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Poverty driver

• Provide benefit in-kind (experience)

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Keywords

• Nutrition
• Community involvement
• Food accessibility
• Food affordability
• Educational

Aim

The project aims to reduce food inaccessibility and to educate on, and reduce food waste within rural communities in Moray.

Summary

The Big Blue Mobile Pantry is an outreach zero waste initiative. With about 450 members, it receives over 3,000 visits annually and distributes nearly 17 tonnes of food to Moray's most rural villages.
The project also provides reasonably priced, wholesome food to 30 villages in rural Moray, where stores are more than 30 miles away. Managed by Moray Food Plus, it gives everyone access to nutritious options, encourages social interaction, and teaches residents how to maximise food usage and reduce food wastage.

What difference does it make?

The project has provided rural communities a platform to receive groceries at a low cost without having to travel long distances to the shops to get the basics. For parents of children with additional support needs, the idea of the bus being a safe space near their house, where they can get groceries rather than a loud and busy supermarket is significant. Additionally, it allows them access to more healthy food and allows them to try new foods, a chance they may not have had before. The project has created a new sense of community. It allows for people to come along and converse with their neighbours while experiencing a service which helps them out financially and caters to their holistic needs. The project also serves to reduce carbon emission though food wastage.

Key take-aways

• During the Covid-19 pandemic Big Blue created new partnerships with many of the rural communities.
• Big Blue engaged representatives from community groups very early on and this has helped them to feel that Big Blue is their project.
• Big Blue purposely avoided areas with small shops as they did not want to displace local business and put more financial pressure on them - this helped create a focus for the project.
• Big Blue also hold activities within the communities, hiring village halls to financially support them.

 

Organisations

Moray Food Plus

Location

Moray (rural)

In 2018, the price differences between those buying groceries in rural areas vs nearby towns came to the attention of the Moray Food Plus organisation. However, it was mainly at the beginning of lockdown in 2020 when the idea became possible through funding provided. The project launched in April 2022.

Contact