A PEEBLESSHIRE charity that provides training for people with learning difficulties has fallen victim to coronavirus, making six staff redundant.

For 14 years, the Food Foundation – based at Victoria Park Centre in Peebles – has been providing young people in the community with practical experience in a commercial kitchen, backed up with online training leading to a range of qualifications to put them on the path to future employment.

Despite the pandemic putting the brakes on the training programme, the charity launched the Flowerpot Cafe last August in the hope that, once COVID restrictions eased, the students could come back and gain social skills through interaction with customers.

The outdoor eatery, along with the mini-market, has now closed.

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Karen McCusker, who is on the board of directors, said this week: “Despite the fantastic efforts of our fantastic team of staff and volunteers at the Food Foundation over the last 14 years, and particularly during the last 16 months, the ongoing COVID restrictions mean that we have not been permitted to re-open the Flowerpot Cafe or to bring our students back to continue their learning with us.

“This means that we face a significant gap in our funds and the board has had to make the sad and extremely difficult decision to substantially scale back the activities of the Food Foundation.

“This is a particularly difficult time for our staff to whom we owe a huge debt of gratitude.”

Ms McCusker added: “The good news, however, is that our Neighbour Food programme will continue, and we hope that the people of Peebles and the surrounding areas will continue to support us with their custom and enjoy all the tasty treats and other great offerings available there.”

The charity bravely took on a new culinary community project during the coronavirus outbreak by taking care of the most vulnerable and elderly.

Determined staff, along with an army of big-hearted volunteers, cooked and delivered hundreds of meals daily to the elderly and those isolating in the community throughout lockdown.

This totalled a phenomenal 12,000 meals which were distributed free-of-charge.

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“To have made and delivered over 12,000 meals free-of-charge to people in need during the pandemic is a massive achievement, which we could not have done without the support of our dedicated staff and volunteers,” said Ms McCusker.

“We know, from speaking with the recipients and their families, that their efforts made a significant difference to the lives of so many people in our community.

“The board of the Food Foundation will continue to work hard behind the scenes, with a focus on fundraising efforts, and we hope to resume our normal range of services as soon as we can. We aim to be back, bigger and better, in the future.

“Until then, we would like to acknowledge the support of our wonderful staff, our volunteers, and the wider Peebles community.

“You helped us make a real difference.”

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Speaking to the Peeblesshire News this week, the chairman of the Food Foundation, Tom Hardy, said: “We are deeply sorry to have had to take the decision to cut back on our activities and make all our extremely hard-working staff redundant.”

It is the end of a chapter, but not the end of the story for the Food Foundation.

Mr Hardy added: “The board will continue to strive to achieve a positive outcome and we hope to return to provide the local community with the excellent service and support which we provided in the past.”

Anyone interested in supporting the charity’s fundraising efforts can do so via the JustGiving page Kingsmeadows Social Enterprises - JustGiving